Bornean Banded-Pitta
Hydrornis schwaneri
Snappy-looking pitta with a broad egg-yolk-yellow eyebrow, black mask, coffee-brown back, and finely barred underparts. Male has a yellow throat, black crown, and indigo belly patch. Female is similar but duller, with no indigo belly patch, a whitish throat, paler underparts, and a pale brown crown. Listen for its song, a series of well-spaced explosive but mellow “byow!”s. Widely distributed but uncommon to locally common; inhabits hill and lowland dipterocarp forests, where it seems to favor dry ridges, hilltops, and limestone areas.
Identification
Snappy-looking pitta with a broad egg-yolk-yellow eyebrow, black mask, coffee-brown back, and finely barred underparts. Male has a yellow throat, black crown, and indigo belly patch. Female is similar but duller, with no indigo belly patch, a whitish throat, paler underparts, and a pale brown crown. Listen for its song, a series of well-spaced explosive but mellow “byow!”s. Widely distributed but uncommon to locally common; inhabits hill and lowland dipterocarp forests, where it seems to favor dry ridges, hilltops, and limestone areas.
Taxonomy
Genus: Hydrornis; Family: Pittidae; Order: Passeriformes.
- Scientific name
- Hydrornis schwaneri
- Authority
- (Bonaparte, 1850)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Pittidae
- Genus
- Hydrornis
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: declining.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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