E RYTHROPITT,A CELEBENSIS

Celebean Pitta,

Dy releheyneze NIx + Q T
sia ealebensis, Miillex & Schlegel, Verh, nat, Geschied fol., Zool. Pi
MS.).—Gray, Genera of Birds, i. p. 213 (1846) W te Ha, Tol-s P- 18, no. 16 (1839-44, ex Forster
afeiel : oS : ° i. — es 0 hdr ° . °
pl. iii. (1848-54). allace, Ibis 1860, p. 142 - oe tot de Dierkunde, folio, i. p. 46,
Vog. van Neder oe fee ee MS, Pas tins, Dig, 5 a
‘ = a ae Pitta, Pp. 17, 34, pl. iy, figs. 4, 5 (1863) a ie oo poe
and-list “ds . Oe : , 8, » p. 105.—Gr,
ae ic S,1. p. 296, no. 4377 (1869).—Schlegel Mus Pays-Bas Re ue Pitt : Wf ae
beh eaiiclCL ae AU1 TO eV CT Se inyaifn (CUR . 2 ets ’ y uta, p. 1874).—
— . cic Genoy. vii, p. 663 (1875).—Meyer in Rowley’s Ornitt Ze / -
(1877).—Gould, Birds of Asia, part vii, (1878) ys Urnith. Mise. part viii.
Brachyurus celebensis Bonap. Cons , ;
, ’ ge ORS pee Cenae amine Means mera ae
Ibis, 1870, p. 418. P. 253 (1850), Elliot, Monogr. Pittide, pl. xvii. (1863).—Id.
Erythropitta celebensis Bonap Consp. V :
S ap. sp. Volucr. Anisod. Pp. 7 (1854).—Wal : af
—Meyer, Ibis, 1879, Pp. 126.—Wardlaw-Rams | Te Pt ee

(1881), ay, Orn. Works of Marquis of Tweeddale, p. 164

ee

I wave already, in one of my other articles, spoken of the istributi red-br AE
archipelago; and below | quote the eae of Dr nee oe re-breasted Pittas in the Mey
— - Meyer on this subject ; I therefore need only say that
the present species pile representative of that section of the genus on the island of Celebes, to which it
ee sane ee Fi e Review o the ees cone in cE Leiden Museum,
gel s se Xamples from the island of Siao in the Sanghir archipelago ; but
these no doubt belong to the species since named Pitta palliceps by the late Dr. Bruggemann. Certain
differences, indeed, seem to have struck Professor Schlegel at the time; for he says that in the birds from
Siao the rufous colour of the head js paler than in examples from Celebes, and often replaces the black
bordering the blue stripe on the head.

Mr. Wallace found the species scarce in Northern Celebes, which appears to be the only part of the
island where it has yet been found. I may be mistaken in this, as the localities Modelido, Negri-lama, and
Boné, mentioned in the list of specimens at Leiden, do not occur in any of the maps I have examined. The
other places, however, Menado, Gorontalo, and Tondano are situated in the northern part of Celebes ; and
Dr. Beceari, although he collected at Buton, in the south-west corner of the island, only met with this Pitta
at Kema, in the north. The presumption, at least, is, that, even if it is found all over the island, it is more
abundant in the northern portion.

Count Salvadori mentions that the specimen shot by Dr. Beccari at Kema had the outermost of the
a feature not previously noted or

 

smaller wing-coverts close to the bend of the wing marked with white

figured in the plates of the species which have at present appeared.

 

Dr. Meyer has published the following note :

“Although the red-breasted Pitta of Celebes is not so difficult to procure as the black-headed, it is
nevertheless a bird which it is not easy to get a shot at, being very quiet in the daytime, and seldom calling
except in the morning and evening its fw fehui. In the evening the ery oppo (origin of the native name)
is heard, with which male and female call one another, the note sounding melancholy and protracted.
‘Oppo’ means, in the language of the country, ‘grandfather ;’ and the Se tel a tale, ane a
child had gone with its grandfather into the forest, got astray, and was iransfonmed into a bird, which roy
always ealls for its orandfather. Pitta celebensis only runs on the ground, ou 1s on sby and watchful 5 it
glides noiselessly through the leaves; and, as its back is green, it can only oe difficulty be detected. ; fo
approach it one must creep through the densest bushes; and without imitating ie oo nee as a
pursuit would be in vain; but if the hunter imitates the cry, he an draw the bird almost G . a a
his gun. During the daytime they go singly, in the evening in pairs together. The nest is 2 p oe
brushes, near small pools. The bird digs a hole in the slope of ie Teas and ie . aS
of wood and leaves, lined with cotton or hairy-plant materials (for instance, from ee a a é
If the female sits on the eggs, the male watches in the neighbour ue 2 eos
This Pitta feeds on beetles, small caterpillars, &c.
* Bill blackish-

Lab.). It lays two eggs.
takes the place of the female when she goes for oe . shly killed specimens :—
The soft parts are noted by Mr. Wallace to be as follows in freshly I

0.0 oe 1) :
horny ; feet dusky lead-colour ; iris pale olive. from examples in my own collection.
ate . ss C te ife. and are drawn AG :
The figures in the Plate are of the size of life, and [Re Bes