PITTA ELLIOTI, Oustalet 



Elliot's Pitta. 



Pitta ellioti, Oustalet, Nouvelles Archives du Museum, vol. x. Bulletin, p. 101, pi. ii. (1874). 



The present species is represented by specimens of both sexes in the Paris Museum ; and no other collection 

 can at present boast of the possession of this beautiful and unique bird. Its home appears to be the interior 

 of Cochin China, a country concerning the ornithology of which scarcely any thing has yet been written, but 

 one which, if we may judge from the little we do know, would yield a rich increase to our knowledge of 

 Asiatic zoology. Situated as it is, there can be no doubt that Cochin China must receive a considerable 

 influx of the winter migrants from China, while its indigenous avifauna, if we may make a deduction from 

 the few species recorded, must consist of a mixture of Indian, Chinese, and even Malayan forms. With 

 regard to the latter we may remark that the present species alone is sufficient to establish a Malayan element 

 as existing in Cochin China ; for Elliot's Pitta is not allied to any of the known Chinese members of the 

 genus, but belongs to that section, with longish tails, and a generally blue coloration, for which the term 

 Eucichla has been proposed as a distinct generic title. 



As might be expected in the case of a bird so recently described, nothing is known of its habits ; and I 

 therefore content myself with translating the description given by Dr. Oustalet. 



" Feathers of the head, which are elongated behind so as to form a sort of crest, emerald-blue, more 

 glistening on the forehead and eyebrow than on the crown. A black band, starting from the nostrils, passes 

 on each side below the eye, and ends abruptly near the nape. The back is ultramarine blue, shaded with 

 green and with brownish, the feathers of this part of the body being brown at the base, blue in the middle, 

 and edged with green, the upper tail-coverts presenting the same tints. The quills are rather dark purplish 

 brown ; and the secondaries have their outer webs of an ashy brownish colour. The tail-feathers are intense 

 ultramarine blue, at least on the external webs, the inner webs being more or less shaded with green. The 

 throat is very clear blue passing into whitish, the breast of an ashy-green colour. A band of very dark 

 bluish from the lower breast ends between the legs ; the flanks and region of the vent are ornamented 

 with black transverse bands, rather numerous, which are clearly defined on a yellow ground ; the under 

 tail-coverts are black at the base, and pass into green or ultramarine blue at their tips. The beak is dark 

 reddish-brown ; and the tarsus and toes are rather reddish, but are doubtless of a darker colour in the living 

 bird." I have not seen a specimen of this species myself, but am indebted to Professor Milne-Edwards for 

 a painting of the birds taken from the specimens at the Museum in the Jardin des Plantes. The painting 

 was executed by the well-known artist M. Huet, to whom also my thanks are due. The figures in the Plate 

 represent the male and female, of the size of life, and are founded upon the above-mentioned pictures of 

 M. Huet. 



Mr. Elliot, the monographist of this beautiful group, has taken considerable interest and trouble in the 

 matter of my work, for which I thank him, and not only for this but for many other favours. 



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