J. Delacour—Breeding the Hooded Pitta



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It was clear that a thickly planted aviary, with a moist atmosphere,

was the only accommodation to try to induce them to nest, and

I always thought my greenhouse-aviaries were very suitable for the

purpose. In fact, since the beginning, I always kept in them

some Pittas, in perfect condition. Their feet, which are very

tender, kept in good order, and their colours, which often fade

in cages, remained as bright as they are when at liberty.


Pittas prove quite harmless to other birds, even as small as

Humming Birds, but they are most intolerant to one another. It

is almost impossible to keep two together, even in a large aviary

and cock and hen of the same species, and this has been the

principal obstacle to their breeding in confinement.


In the early spring of 1933, however, I succeeded in keeping

together two Hooded Pittas (Pitta cucullata ), a species which is

often imported from India and extends to Indo-China and the

Malay Peninsula. Both sexes are alike, of a pretty, soft green

colour with a black and chestnut head, a crimson belly, and lovely

shining blue patches on the wings and rump.


There was no doubt that the smaller bird was a female, as it

had dropped a couple of eggs shortly after it had arrived. The

other one was taller, with a stronger bill, and gave the impression

of being a male, rightly enough. At a few days’ intervals, in

May, 1933, both birds were let out in a large compartment of the

tropical aviaries, 40 by 15 feet, -with a temperature of 65 to 90

degrees all the year round. It is thickly furnished with tropical

plants, and contains a blue water lily pool. There live some forty

to fifty Humming Birds, Sunbirds, and small insectivorous species,

as well as a dozen Chinese Quails. None of them seems to be noticed

by the Pittas.


Each bird kept to a corner, under the thick vegetation; both

were always quite tame, and readily fed at one’s feet. When

they met there was nothing more serious than a short fight, and

for months they lived as far apart as they could from one another,

in a state of armed peace. On 10th April, 1934, the cock started

calling loudly from the top of a tree, where he seldom ascended

before, and such serious struggles took place that I was almost



