Vinay Pais for Daijiworld Media Network – Kundapur (AF)

Kundapur, Dec 27: A rare bird known as Indian Pitta was recently rescued by N Mohan Acharya, a member of Flora and Fauna Club here.

The bird had been attacked by a cat in a nursery at Koteshwar, causing it serious injuries. It is now recovering and has become the cynosure of many.

Indian Pitta is a rare migratory bird from the north. During winter it migrates to south. Locally it is known as ‘Halalu Gubbi’ whereas in the north it is called ‘Navarang.’

About Indian Pitta (source: Wikipedia)

The Indian Pitta is a medium-sized bird that breeds in the Himalayas and north-east India during summer and travels to southern Indian and Sri Lanka during the winter.

This is a stunning, brightly coloured bird. It has a buff crown, thick black eye stripe and white throat and neck. The upperparts are green, with a blue tail, and the underparts buff, with bright red on the lower belly. The legs are buff.

It is a stocky terrestrial bird of wet forest floors, which eats snails, insects and similar invertebrate prey. It has long strong legs, a very short tail and stout bill. It lays up to six eggs in a large spherical nest in a tree or shrub.

Despite its bright colours, this species can be very difficult to see as it forages low in its dense forest habitat. It is much readily heard, and has a distinctive two-note wolf-whistle.