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
Other Birds
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Pyrrholaemus sagittatus
Small, distinctive, ground-dwelling bird. Upperparts gray, underparts cream white, with black streaking on back, underparts, and crown. Male has black stripe on side of crown, female a rufous stripe. Inhabits dry forest and woodlands. Often forages near forest edges, searching for insects in leaf litter or grass.
Waterfall Swift
Hydrochous gigas
Largish dark swift with a stumpy body and a forked tail. As the name would suggest, associated with mountain waterfalls in forest areas; nests are placed close to the spray. Uniformly brown; larger and more long-winged than swiftlets. Sometimes forages in mixed flocks with other swifts, such as needletails.
Vaux's Swift
Chaetura vauxi
Very small swift with stiff, quick wingbeats. Grayish overall with paler throat and brownish rump. Relatively short-winged and short-tailed compared with other similar swifts. Often in small flocks. Listen for its high-pitched chips and trills. Feeds on aerial insects over a variety of habitats, including forests, fields, towns, and bodies of water. Multiple populations are surely distinct species. Migratory population breeds extensively in the western U.S. and Canada, wintering to Central America. Resident “Richmond’s Swift” occurs through much of Mexico and Central America, and is darker overall than migratory Vaux’s with a more contrasting pale throat and browner rump. There are also resident populations on the Yucatan peninsula and in western Venezuela, for which identification criteria are not well-defined. Range overlaps with several other similar swifts in Mexico and Central America. Vaux’s is smaller with quicker wingbeats than Chimney Swift or Gray-rumped Swift, with higher-pitched calls.
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