NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Elegant Pitta
Pitta elegans Temminck, 1836
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Elegant Pitta Pitta elegans
Abdul Azis Gizan · CC BY 2.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The elegant pitta (Pitta elegans) is a species of passerine bird in the pitta family Pittidae. It is endemic to Indonesia, where it is found in the Lesser Sunda Islands and Moluccas.
Wikipedia contributors, Elegant pitta; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T03:21:43.865191+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Pitta elegans Temminck, 1836
- Name authority
- Temminck, 1836
- Common name
- Elegant Pitta
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Pittidae
- Genus
- Pitta
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyPittidae
- genusPitta Vieillot, 1816
- speciesPitta elegans Temminck, 1836
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Pitta. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| African PittaPitta angolensis Vieillot, 1816 | PittidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Indian PittaPitta brachyura (Linnaeus, 1766) | PittidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Rainbow PittaPitta iris Gould, 1842 | PittidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Mangrove PittaPitta megarhyncha Schlegel, 1863 | PittidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Fairy PittaPitta nympha Temminck & Schlegel, 1847 | PittidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Green-breasted PittaPitta reichenowi G. Madarász, 1901 | PittidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Western Hooded PittaPitta sordida (P. L. S. Müller, 1776) | PittidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Superb PittaPitta superba Rothschild & E. J. O. Hartert, 1914 | PittidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Ivory-breasted PittaPitta maxima S. Müller & Schlegel, 1845 | PittidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Banda Sea PittaPitta vigorsii Gould, 1838 | PittidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Biak Hooded PittaPitta rosenbergii Schlegel, 1871 | PittidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Nicobar Hooded PittaPitta abbotti Richmond, 1902 | PittidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- Temminck, C. J., and M. Laugier. (1836). Nouveau Recueil de Planches Coloriées d’Oiseaux, Pour Servir de Suite et de Complément Aux Planches Enluminées de Buffon, Livraison 100. Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:4JBY6. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.