Editing Pitta (section)

==Description==
[[File:Pitta cyanea 1 - Khao Yai.jpg|thumb|alt= blue bird with yellow, orange and black head stands on leafy forest floor|The [[blue pitta]] is sexually dimorphic, the bright plumage of this bird means it is a male]]

The pittas are small to medium-sized passerines, ranging in size from the [[blue-banded pitta]] at {{convert|15|cm|in|abbr=on}} to the [[giant pitta]], which can be up to {{convert|29|cm|in|abbr=on}} in length. In weight they range from {{convert|42|to(-)|210|g|oz|abbr=on}}. Pittas are stout-bodied birds with long, strong [[Tibiotarsus|tarsi]] (lower leg bones) and long feet. The colour of the legs and feet can vary dramatically even within a species. This may be a characteristic used by females in judging the quality of a prospective mate. The wings have ten [[flight feather|primaries]] that are generally rounded and short; those of the four migratory species are more pointed. There are nine secondaries with the tenth being [[Vestigiality|vestigial]]. Anatomically, pittas have large [[temporal fossa]]e in the skull unlike typical perching birds.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/structureclassif00bedd|title=The Structure and Classification of Birds|author=Beddard, Frank E.|publisher=Longmans, Green, and Co.|year=1898|place=London|page=[https://archive.org/details/structureclassif00bedd/page/181 181]}}</ref> The [[Syrinx (bird anatomy)|syrinx]] is tracheo-bronchial and lacks a pessulus or intrinsic muscles.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Directory of Australian Birds: Passerines|author1=Schodde, R.|author2=Mason, I.J.|publisher=CSIRO Publishing|year=1999|isbn=978-0643100862}}</ref> Pittas are behaviourally reluctant to [[bird flight|fly]], but are capable and even strong fliers. The tails range from being short to very short, and are composed of twelve feathers.<ref name = "HBW"/><ref>{{cite journal|doi= 10.1111/j.1474-919X.1893.tb01238.x|url= https://archive.org/stream/ibis651893brit#page/488/mode/2up|title=A review of the species of the family Pittidae|author=Whitehead, John|journal=Ibis|volume=35|issue=4|year=1893|pages=488–509}}</ref>

Unlike most other forest-floor bird species, the [[plumage]] of pittas is often bright and colourful. Only one species, the eared pitta, has entirely cryptic colours in the adults of both sexes. In the same genus, ''Hydrornis'', are three further species with drabber than average plumage, the [[blue-naped pitta]], [[blue-rumped pitta]] and [[rusty-naped pitta]]. Like the other ''Hydrornis'' pittas they are sexually dimorphic in their plumage, the females tending towards being drabber and more cryptic than the males. In general the sexes in the family tend to be very similar if not identical. Across most of the family the brighter colours tend to be on the undersides, with patches or areas of bright colours on the rump, wings and uppertail coverts being concealable. Being able to conceal bright colours from above is important as most predators approach from above; four species have brighter upperparts.<ref name = "HBW"/>