NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Mangrove Pitta
Pitta megarhyncha Schlegel, 1863
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.
Open encyclopedia reference
The mangrove pitta (Pitta megarhyncha) is a species of passerine bird in the family Pittidae native to the eastern Indian subcontinent and western Southeast Asia. It is part of a superspecies where it is placed with the Indian pitta, the fairy pitta and the blue-winged pitta but has no recognized subspecies. A colourful bird, it has a black head with brown crown, white throat, greenish upper parts, buff underparts and reddish vent area. Its range extends from India to Malaysia and Indonesia. It is found in mangrove and nipa palm forests where it feeds on crustaceans, mollusks and insects. Its call, sometimes rendered as wieuw-wieuw, is sung from a high perch on a mangrove tree.
Wikipedia contributors, Mangrove pitta; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T04:07:14.207973+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Pitta megarhyncha Schlegel, 1863
- Name authority
- Schlegel, 1863
- Common name
- Mangrove 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 megarhyncha Schlegel, 1863
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 |
| Elegant PittaPitta elegans Temminck, 1836 | PittidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Rainbow PittaPitta iris Gould, 1842 | 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.
- Schlegel, & Hermann. (1863). Les Oiseaux des Indes Neèrlandaises, part 1. De Vogels van Nederlandsch Indië. 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. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
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:4JBYF. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.