Rusty-naped Pitta
Hydrornis oatesi
Relatively dull for a pitta, but subtly attractive nonetheless. Algae green above and dirt brown below, with a soft orange nape and a thin black line behind the eye. Female is duller than the male. Like other pittas, shy and difficult to see, hopping about and foraging on the ground, typically under thick cover. This species prefers deep and densely wooded ravines and gorges, from which its repeated explosive “chom-WIT!” can occasionally be heard.
Identification
The male has a deep brown head and underparts with dull green wings. It has a well defined black stripe behind the eyes. The female is duller than the male, with brownish tingeing on the wings and vague dark scaling on the lower throat.
Taxonomy
The rusty-naped pitta was described by Allan Octavian Hume in 1873 from specimens collected in the eastern Pegu Range, Myanmar. Hume coined the current binomial name Hydrornis oatesi. The species was subsequently placed in the genus Pitta but was then moved back to the resurrected genus Hydrornis in 2006 based on the results of a molecular phylogenetic study. The genus Hydrornis had been introduced by the English zoologist Edward Blyth in 1843. The specific epithet was chosen to honour the amateur ornithologist Eugene William Oates who had collected the specimens.<p>Four subspecies are recognised:
- Scientific name
- Hydrornis oatesi
- Authority
- Hume, 1873
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Pittidae
- Genus
- Hydrornis
Range and habitat
The rusty-naped pitta is native to Indochina and adjacent parts of southern China. It inhabits subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical, tropical moist montane forests and bamboo forests above the elevation of 800 m (2,600 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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Black-collared Apalis
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A slim, pretty, long-tailed member of the cisticola family with gray upperparts and mostly white underparts, a black chest band, and rufous flanks. Found in the understory and along the edges of montane forest. Usually in pairs or small groups, readily joining mixed flocks. Not known to overlap in range with Rwenzori Apalis, and differs by having a white rather than buffy throat, and white in the outer tail. Has a black chest band like Black-capped Apalis, but separated by many details, including the gray back and rufous flanks. Vocalizations include a ringing “svink” and a lower “veet” which are often given in duet by a pair.
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