About Pitta moluccensis (Statius Muller, 1776)
The blue-winged pitta, Pitta moluccensis, measures 180 to 205 mm (7.1–8.1 in) in total length. It has a black head with a buff-coloured supercilium, a white chin, and buff underparts. Its shoulders and mantle are greenish, its wings are bright blue, and its vent is reddish. The bill is black, the eyes are brown, the legs are pale pink, and the tail is very short. Juveniles have the same general plumage pattern as adults but appear duller. This species resembles the mangrove pitta, but can be told apart by its shorter bill. Its loud call has been transcribed as taew-laew taew-laew. The blue-winged pitta is regularly found across Brunei, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. It occurs as a vagrant in Australia, Christmas Island, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. Its core range covers most of southeast Asia and Indochina, extending from central Myanmar east through Thailand into Peninsular Malaysia. It is a winter visitor to Borneo and Sumatra, a vagrant to the Philippines and Java, and a rare vagrant to the northwestern coast of Australia. It inhabits lowland subtropical and tropical forests, and can be found in a variety of habitats up to 800 m (2,600 ft) in altitude, including broadleaved forests, parks, gardens, and mangroves. It avoids dense rainforest.
