Malay banded pitta (April 2021)

The Malayan banded pitta, Hydrornis irena is a small-sized pitta measuring up to 23 cm. It is an attractive and strikingly coloured pitta with both sexes showing some dimorphism. The male has a black crown and broad mask and the broad bright yellow supercilium appears to become flame orange on the nape. The underparts are deep blue with orange barring on the breast while the upperparts are plain chestnut-brown. The blackish-brown wings have white spots in the primaries and in the outer secondaries while the rump and tail are deep blue in colour. In contrast, the female is almost alike to the male but the underparts are white with fine black barring. For juveniles, the upper wing coverts have bold, pure white spotting. This pitta feeds mainly on insects like caterpillars, termites, ants, cockroaches, also snails and earthworms.
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The Malayan banded pitta occurs in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. The habitat for this pitta is the primary forest near limestone cliff and in the secondary forest. The population is decreasing moderately rapid, threatened by forest loss and degradation, and illegal bird trading. Thus, it has been categorised as Near Threatened in the IUCN Red List. [Source: MyBIS]

Name: Malay banded pitta (female)
Scientific: Hydrornis irena
Malay: Burung Pacat Belang Malaya / Burung Pacat Berjalur
Family: Pittidae
IUCN Red List (v3.1, 2016): Near Threatened
Location: Bukit Wang, Kedah.

Photos are couresy of Arman Haron and edited by me from Fuji X-T4 RAW files.