NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Fairy Pitta
Pitta nympha Temminck & Schlegel, 1847
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 fairy pitta (Pitta nympha) is a small and brightly colored species of passerine bird in the family Pittidae. Its diet mainly consists of earthworms, spiders, insects, slugs, and snails. The fairy pitta breeds in East Asia and migrates south to winter in Southeast Asia. Due to various habitat and anthropogenic disruptions, such as deforestation, wildfire, hunting, trapping, and cage-bird trade, the fairy pitta is rare and the population is declining in most places. Listed on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Appendix II, this bird is classified as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Wikipedia contributors, Fairy pitta; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:17:58.763924+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Pitta nympha Temminck & Schlegel, 1847
- Name authority
- Temminck & Schlegel, 1847
- Common name
- Fairy 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 nympha Temminck & Schlegel, 1847
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 |
| Mangrove PittaPitta megarhyncha Schlegel, 1863 | 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, Coenraad Jacob, & and Hermann Schlegel. (1845). Fauna Japonica, Sive, Descriptio Animalium, Quae in Itinere per Japoniam, Jussu et Auspiciis, Superiorum, Qui Summum in India Batava Imperium Tenent, Suscepto, Annis 1823-1830, Vol. 4, Aves, Fascicle 2. 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:4JBYJ. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.