The Call Of Colours

Indian Pitta at Mirzapur

Pittas are one of the most colourful birds in the world. The behaviour, the colour and the ecology is very elusive and attractive. It is a delight to all birders and ornithologists.
Pittas are colourful, long legged passerine birds as big as a myna but plumper and short tailed. They generally hop around the forest floors over fallen logs and dense undergrowth, usually roaming in loose pairs. They feed on insects, grubs, snails, worms, etc. They are quite shy and are best located by their characteristic whistling calls. Most likely seen at dawn or dusk, roosting on trees with their melodious call.
One of my favourite Pittas is the infamous Indian Pitta, which is a bird of nine colours. I have seen it quite a number of times now and observing it and listening to its call is always a delight no matter how many times I see it. The Indian Pitta resides in the south in winters and comes upto north India in summers for breeding. It generally nest and breeds in the Shivalik Foothills and Western Himalayas, and while its conquest to reach there, it can bee seen through various states of India. This year I  saw six of them at farm in Ropar, Punjab. The Indian Pitta starts calling at 6:00am in the morning and at 6:00pm during the evening, thus it is also called the six o clock bird. It mostly prefers scrub jungles or dense deciduous forests. Pittas also have a very keen sense of smell. Indian Pittas were found to have the largest olfactory bulb out of all passerine birds. Pittas are also quite clever birds and have been seen several times, using stones to crack open snail shells and eat them.

Malayan Banded Pitta I saw in Thailand

There are 42 species of Pittas found in Asia,          Australia and Africa and are divided in three  different genus: Hydrornis, Erythropitta and Pitta. Pittas are a very popular bird group amongst birders due to their dazzling plumages and the relative difficulty of seeing these birds hiding in dark, dense forests. The desire of birders to watch this bird is incredibly described in the book: "The Jewel Hunter" in which the writer Chris Goodie attempts to see every species of this bird.

Due to the amazing appearance of this bird, many bird and wildlife photographers go beyond the limit of ethical bird photography. They use huge flashes to get good photos of this bird as it is usually seen in darker forest areas and the flash causes temporary blindness to the bird and stuns it. In order to see it people usually play their recorded call which in return makes the Pitta respond, but can also

confuse it. However, I stand guilty of attempting to call the pitta by using a fake call, I do not use it now and don't recommend it to anyone else as it confuses the bird in thinking that the fake call is its partner.

The Blue Pitta I saw in Thailand.

Pittas are continuously facing a threat to endangerment due to forest and habitat loss. The Gurneys Pitta in Burma and the Blue Headed Pitta from Borneo are threatened by rapid forest loss. Pittas are targeted by poachers for illegal wild bird trade. I myself saw several Banded Pittas caged in a local bazaar in Bangkok, Thailand.They are not targeted because of their song, as many songbirds are, and may simply be captured as bycatch from collecting other species, and because of their attractive plumage.

 The attempts to breed these birds in captivity is not a total success as they are strongly territorial and can cover territories from 3000m square to 10000m square. In captivity they also get highly aggressive, attacking other bird species and even their own while this behaviour is not observed in the wild.
Being the most colourful birds on our planet one can never see enough of pittas and their beauty never ceases to surprise me and it is our duty to conserve our forests, so that the home of these beautiful bird remains preserved and let them bewilder us by their beauty.

Indian Pitta Calling