Banda Sea Pitta Pitta vigorsii

A typical pitta: plump, short-tailed, long-legged, and primarily terrestrial (sometimes perches up to call). Bright green above with electric blue shoulder patch and rump and black head with conspicuous pale brow. Underside golden-buff with black and bright red on the belly. Juvenile duller, with little blue in wing, an orange-tipped bill, and a pinkish belly. Inhabits wooded and forested habitats on islands throughout the Banda Sea, from Seram to the Tanimbars; partially migratory. Formerly regarded as a subspecies of Elegant Pitta, to which it is very similar; look for a pale throat in present species (other “Elegant-types” are dark-throated). Song is a deep, slurred-sounding “wehr-wehr”, and call is a squeaky “skyiw!”