Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- taxon
- Parent taxon
- Pitta
- Mass
- 7.5
- Image
- African Pitta (Pitta angolensis), Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe.jpg
Show 8 more facts
- taxon name
- Pitta angolensis
- taxon rank
- species
- IUCN conservation status
- Least Concern
- Commons category
- Pitta angolensis
- taxon common name
- pita-angolana
- short name
- P. angolensis
- litter size
- 3
- taxon range
- Africa
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Encyclopedic overview
The African pitta (Pitta angolensis) is an Afrotropical bird of the family Pittidae. It is a locally common to uncommon species, resident and migratory in the west, and an intra-African migrant between equatorial and southeastern Africa. They are elusive and hard to observe despite their brightly coloured plumage, and their loud, explosive calls are infrequently heard. The plump, somewhat thrush-like birds forage on leaf litter under the canopy of riparian or coastal forest and thickets, or in climax miombo forest. They spend much time during mornings and at dusk scratching in leaf litter or around termitaria, or may stand motionless for long periods. Following rains breeding birds call and display from the mid-canopy.
Taxonomy
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “African Pitta” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.