A small native bird with a black head and breast, electric blue shoulder patches and white wing spots. Upperparts are bright olive-green, sometimes a silvery green-blue. The only pitta in the Darwin region, and Australia’s only pitta with a black head and breast.
Its nest is loose, interwoven sticks and dead vines, usually dome-shaped but can be a cup, with entrance at side or near top. It can be in a fork, on a branch, against butress root on the ground, from ground level to 8 metres above.
16 - 18 cm
A brisk ‘we-wik-to-wik’ and high-pitched ‘kiew’.
Feeds on a wide range of invertebrates, and occasionally on frogs and small skinks.
Breeding occurs from late October to early March. Pairs are monogamous, and can raise two broods in a single season. Four eggs are lain that are incubated for 14 days. Both sexes share maternal responsibilities.
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Presence
Courting/Mating
Calling
Nest
Bird on chicks
Bird on eggs
Bird on nest
Bird feeding young
All year round. Breeding occurs during late October to early March.
The Noisy Pitta (Pitta versicolor) occurs in eastern coastal Australia from Torres Strait south to Hunter Region of NSW and will not have a black head and breast.
The Rainbow Pitta is unlikely to be confused with any other bird in the Northern Territory region.
