| Noisy Pitta Pitta versicolor |
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Paluma, Queensland, Australia December 2010 The Noisy Pitta is distributed in Australia from Cape York, Queensland to the Hunter River in New South Wales. Some of the most northerly populations appear to migrate to the south of Papua New Guinea during the austral winter. |
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They are found in rainforest, tropical scrub and sometimes in gardens. The face and throat are black and the crown is chestnut with a black central stripe. The back and wings are mostly green with blue wing patches while underparts are mustard yellow with a black lower belly and red undertail coverts. Photo 4 shows an immature which is duller with dusky underparts, no blue on the wings and a red gape. It has an upright posture and hops around the forest floor turning over leaves in the search for insects, worms and snails. It seems to be particularly fond of snails which it eats in much the same way as a Song Thrush T. philomelos does, repeatedly striking the shell against a stone "anvil". It is interesting that Pittas are sometimes called "Jewel-Thrushes" | |||
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