Photographer: Dubi Shapiro   Destination: The Philippines

What is it about Pittas?

Maybe it’s the long legs. Hopping around the forest floor, flipping leaves, probing the dark corners of woodlands, on the hunt for bugs and worms: they seem so focused, so driven. Forgetting their showy plumages, which have yielded colloquial names like “jewel-thrush”, one must admire the work ethic of pittas. The big eyes must help, too. Both for searching out prey, but also for making them so captivating. We can’t help but imagine that, surely, resting deep within those dark, capacious eyes resides a pensive soul.

Yes, the pittas dress pretty nicely, and they are so unflagging in their pursuits and appear so bipedal it’s hard for us not to identify with them. That their habits render them so tough to see adds yet more intrigue. Nor should we look past their plumpness, which always adds character to a critter. Perhaps surprisingly, pittas are rather brawly in disposition: such that avi-culturalists attempting to breed them have found few species capable of cohabitating with them. Add it up and it’s easy to see why we like them so much. Whenever, wherever we are birding, if there is a pitta present, the magnetic pull to see it is undeniable.

Worldwide there are now an incredible 42 species of pittas, in three genera, with some species owning pretty snazzy names. Who wouldn’t want to see a Rainbow Pitta? How about a Garnet, an Elegant, a Fairy Pitta, or the rambunctious Noisy Pitta? Similar in their appeal and habits to the antpittas of Central and South America, the pittas also offer birders real challenges and rich rewards. Pittas, however, are largely an Asian family that just spill into Africa – there, two of the most elusive members, the African and Green-breasted Pittas reside. Despite ranging rather far and wide, the African Pitta is sufficiently difficult to find that we only typically search for it on private tours to Zimbabwe and previously on our Mozambique tours; while the striking Green-breasted Pitta is regularly targeted on our Uganda tours. In Asia, a few destinations such as Thailand and Malaysia & Borneo are famous for pittas and offer chances of finding upwards of 5 different species on a tour! But for the first month of 2018, our featured image is a species found only in the Philippines, which is both one of the rarest and little-known pittas in the world.

One of nine pitta species listed as globally threatened by BirdLife, the Azure-breasted Pitta pictured above is known from just three sites since 1980, and only one of these is protected. At its other remaining outposts, the Azure-breasted Pitta is very hard to find, but on the island of Bohol, at Rajah Sikatuna National Park, one can still hear their reedy, croaking calls routinely – and with luck, you may even see them giving it. In addition to this outstanding pitta, the Philippines offer a wealth of amazing birds, including Philippine Eagle, Philippine Frogmouth, Stripe-headed Rhabdornis, Philippine Megapode, Palawan Peacock-Pheasant, Bukidnon Woodcock, Palawan Hornbill, Coleto, Elegant & Palawan Tits, and the wild-eyed Sulphur-billed Nuthatch!

Join Team Rockjumper for a Philippines adventure and discover more.