468 Mr. Swainson on New Australasian Birds. 



Pitta versicolor. 



Family. Merulidae. Vigors. 

 Division. Myiotherina. Mihi. 

 Genus. Pitta. Vieillot. 



P. viridis, infra fulva ; uropygio tectricibusque cwruleis, ano 



rubro ; verlice rufo ; nucha, mento, muculaquc abdominali 



nigris. 

 Green, beneath fulvous, rump and wing coverts caerulean blue ; 



vent red; crown rufous; nape, chin, and abdominal spot 



black. 



The Tardus Colma of Liunean writers, (from which Illiger drew 

 the characters he has assigned to the genus Nyiothera) may pro- 

 bably be found to represent the type of a distinct division in the 

 family of Merulidw; in which all the short-tailed Thrushes, with 

 ambulating tarsi, found in the tropical latitudes of the Old, and 

 the New World, as well as in Australasia, will be brought toge- 

 ther. 



The genuine Pittw, as far as I can discover, are confined to India, 

 its adjacent Islands, and Australasia. There is such a general si- 

 milarity of plumage among the species, that Doctor Latham was in- 

 duced to consider such as were known to him when he wrote, as 

 varieties of his short-legged Crow ; yet modern Ornithologists hold 

 a contrary opinion. The present bird, in particular, so closely re- 

 sembles the Pitta cyanoptera of M.Temminck, (beautifully figured 

 in the Planches Coloriees, Li v. 37. pi. 218.) that a doubt may 

 arise, in some minds, whether they should be considered as sepa- 

 rate species. My reasons for adopting the contrary opinion, are 

 founded on their geographic situation, and on those modifications 

 in the colouring of their plumage, which I shall presently detail. 

 P. cyanoptera inhabits Java, while P. versicolor is an Australasian 

 bird. The former is nearly two inches smaller ; the greater quills 

 (if the above figure be correct,) are much longer than the scapular 

 quills ; while in our bird, they are almost of the same length. 

 Next as to colour ; the black spot on the chin in P. cyanoptera, 

 is very small, and the throat pure while; whereas in the Austra- 



