PITTA BOSCHII, Mull .et Sehleg. 

 Van der Bosch's Pitta. 



Pitta Boschii, Mull, et Sehleg. Verh. Nat. Gesch. Ned. Ind., pp. 5, 16, pi. 1. -Moore, Proc. of Zool. Soc. 1854, 

 p. 273-Gray and Mitch. Gen. of Birds, vol. i. p. 213, Pitta, sp. 10.— Horsf. and Moore, Cat. of Birds in 

 Mus. East-Ind. Comp., vol. i. p. 398— Elliot, Mon. Pittidse, pi. xxxi. 



elegans, Less. Voy. de la Bonite, pi. 3.— Temm. PI. Col. text.— Bonap. Consp. Gen. Av., vol. i. p. 256, Pitta, 



sp. 3.— Bonap. Consp. Vol. Anisod. 1854, p. 7. no. 201. 



(Eucichla) elegans, Gray, Handl. of Birds, part i. p. 296. 





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Beautiful in coloration as are the lovely group of birds termed Pittas, the present species is certainly one 

 of the most charming of them. Mr. Elliot, in his Monograph of the family, restricts the generic term 

 Pitta to this bird and its two elegant allies {Pitta cyanura and P. Schwaneri), while Reichenbach, as long- 

 back as the year 1850, applied to the three species the subgeneric term Eucichla. In the present 

 work I have retained all these old-world Ground-Thrushes under the genus Pitta. At some future period, 

 when more species have become known and figured herein, I may deem it necessary to subdivide them 

 according to my own views or those of the various ornithologists who have paid attention to the subject with 

 a view to their classification. That the three species above mentioned form a natural section, I have for 

 many years clearly seen. Specimens of both sexes of Pitta Boschii were brought from Sumatra by the late 

 Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles ; and I remember I shortly after formed the intention of naming the species 

 Pitta Rctfflesi, an intention never carried out — which I now much regret, as it would have been very 

 pleasing to me that the bird should have borne the name of our celebrated countryman. The specimens 

 referred to ornamented for many years the interesting Museum of the Zoological Society of London, the 

 contents of which have since been scattered to the winds. Sumatra is unquestionably the native country of 

 this fine bird ; Mr. Elliot has added that of Malacca also — I believe, on the authority of Dr. Cantor; and he 

 is probably correct in so doing, although, as yet, I have no positive evidence that any examples have been 

 sent from there. The present bird not only differs from its two immediate congeners in being more redun- 

 dantly coloured, but also in the female being more finely decorated than those of the other species ; but, 

 as will be seen on reference to the opposite Plate, she wants the blue and rich cross bars of the under surface. 



Most, if not all the Pittidce are solitary in their habits, and frequent the innermost and sterile parts of 

 the forests almost too rugged for man to traverse, and which he would not venture to traverse did not his 

 knowledge of birds tell him that the monotonous call he hears proceeds from one of nature's living jewels. 



" Messrs. Muller and Schlegel, when writing on this species, say ' the mission to Sumatra with which we 

 were intrusted in the first half of the year 1833 by the then Governor-General Baron Von der Bosch, enabled 

 us to increase our collection by a considerable harvest, both as regards the department of animals and that of 

 plants. Under obligations of gratitude toward his Excellency for the execution of our coveted enterprise, we 

 chose to introduce into the realm of science one of the handsomest birds discovered in the island of Sumatra 



under his venerated name. 



" Pitta Boschii, as regards its size, the shape of its bill, and the length of its feet and tail, resembles suffi- 

 ciently the Pitta cyanura ; and even the distribution of colours in general indicates in these two species a 

 close mutual relationship, and a distinction from the other members of this family. The only specimen seen 

 by us was shot on the south-eastern part of Sumatra, and is at present in the Leyden Museum." 



" The male has the centre of the crown deep black, bounded on each side by a broad band, which commences 

 with rich yellow at the nostrils, gradually passes into rich orange, and finally on the nape into fiery or reddish 

 orange ; below this another band of black encircling the eyes, embracing the cheeks, and passing round the 

 back of the neck ; throat white, narrowly edged with yellow, which colour becomes rich orange on the sides of 

 the neck ; upper surface and wings cinnamon-brown, the tips of the coverts and outer edges of the secon- 

 daries margined with white slightly tinged with blue; upper tail-coverts and tail deep bright blue; under 

 surface rich deep indigo blue, crossed on each side of the breast with narrow crescentic lines of fiery orange- 

 red, which nearly meet in the centre; on each side, near the vent, a patch of yellowish buff; bill black, 

 apparently flesh-colour on the base of the under mandible ; legs and feet fleshy-brown. 



The female is coloured like the male on the upper surface; but the under surface, in lieu of the mdigo- 

 blue and red lines, is crossed from the throat by narrow concentric lines of dark brown and dull yellow. 



The figures represent the two sexes, of the natural size. 



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