Editing Pitta (section)

{{Short description|Family of passerine birds}}
{{About||the bread|Pita|other uses}}
{{Featured article}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| name = Pitta
| image = Pitta sordida - Sri Phang Nga.jpg
| image_upright = 1.2
| image_caption = [[Hooded pitta]] in southern Thailand
| display_parents = 3
| parent_authority =
| taxon = Pittidae
| authority = Authority disputed.{{efn|Walter Bock credited [[William Swainson]], 1831 as the authority for the family name Pittidae.<ref>{{cite book | last=Bock | first=Walter J. | year=1994 | title=History and Nomenclature of Avian Family-Group Names | series=Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History | volume= 222 | publisher=American Museum of Natural History | place=New York | pages=147, 262 | hdl=2246/830 }}</ref> This assignment has been disputed by [[Storrs L. Olson|Storrs Olson]] on the grounds that Swainson merely used the word ''Pittae'' as the plural of the genus name ''Pitta'' to denote the species placed in this genus, without an intention to introduce a suprageneric name.<ref>{{ cite journal | last=Olson | first=Storrs L. | author-link=Storrs L. Olson | year=1995 | title=Reviewed Work: History and Nomenclature of Avian Family-Group Names. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, Volume 222 by W.J. Bock | journal=The Auk | volume=112 | issue=2 | pages=539–546 [544] | jstor=4088759 | url=https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/auk/v112n02/p0524-p0546.pdf | doi=10.2307/4088759 }}</ref> [[Hugh Edwin Strickland]] used "Pittinae" for pittas, treated as a subfamily of the [[Turdidae]] or thrush family, in 1844.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Strickland | first=Hugh E. | author-link=Hugh Edwin Strickland | year=1844 | title=Description of several new and imperfectly-defined genera and species of birds. | journal=Annals and Magazine of Natural History | volume=13 | pages=409–421 [410] | doi=10.1080/03745484409442625 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/22068343 }}</ref>}}
| subdivision_ranks = Genera
| subdivision =
* ''[[Erythropitta]]''
* ''[[Hydrornis]]''
* ''[[Pitta (genus)|Pitta]]''}}

'''Pittas''' are a [[family (biology)|family]], '''Pittidae''', of [[passerine]] [[bird]]s found in Asia, [[Australasia]] and Africa. There are 44 species of pittas, all similar in general appearance and habits. The pittas are Old World [[suboscine]]s, and their closest relatives among other birds are in the genera ''[[Smithornis]] '' and ''[[Calyptomena]]''. Initially placed in a single genus, as of 2009 they have been split into three genera: ''[[Pitta (genus)|Pitta]]'', ''[[Erythropitta]]'' and ''[[Hydrornis]]''. Pittas are medium-sized by passerine standards, at {{cvt|15|to(-)|25|cm|in|frac=2}} in length, and stocky, with strong, longish legs and long feet. They have very short tails and stout, slightly decurved [[beak|bills]]. Many have brightly coloured [[plumage]].

Most pitta species are [[tropical]]; a few species can be found in [[temperate]] climates. They are mostly found in forests, but some live in [[scrubland|scrub]] and [[mangrove swamp|mangroves]]. They are highly terrestrial and mostly solitary, and usually forage on wet forest floors in areas with good ground cover. They eat [[earthworm]]s, [[snail]]s, [[insect]]s and similar invertebrate prey, as well as small vertebrates. Pittas are monogamous and females lay up to six [[bird egg|eggs]] in a large domed [[bird nest|nest]] in a tree or [[shrub]], or sometimes on the ground. Both parents care for the young. Four species of pittas are fully [[bird migration|migratory]], and several more are partially so, though their migrations are poorly understood.

Four species of pitta are listed as [[Endangered species|endangered]] by the [[International Union for Conservation of Nature]]; a further nine species are listed as [[Vulnerable species|vulnerable]] and several more are [[near-threatened]]. The main threat to pittas is habitat loss in the form of rapid [[deforestation]], but they are also targeted by the [[cage-bird trade]]. They are popular with birdwatchers because of their bright plumage and the difficulty in seeing them.