Indian Pitta breeding recorded in Karnataka's Western Ghats

A team of amateur birders from Hubballi has recorded the breeding of Indian pitta, a winter migratory bird to South India, for the first time in the foothills of Western Ghats this July.

The bird, known for its nine vibrant colours in its plumage and a favourite among wildlife photographers, is known to breed at the foothills of Himalayas or central India. The team of Dinesh Kumar, Krishna Devangmath, Nikhil and Suleiman recorded a pair of Pitta (Pitta brachyura) building a nest in Kalkeri forest on the outskirts of Dharwad.

On eBird, a global online bird database, this is the first photographic record of the bird in the state.  

“In July, when our team was in Kalkeri forests, we saw a pitta preparing its nest. During next visits, we even saw three chicks. By mid-August the nest was empty as the chick flew away,” he said.

It was earlier believed that all visiting birds would return to central or northern India after winter.

“Indian pitta is a regular in Goa and has been known to breed in Western Ghats of Karnataka bordering Goa (forests of Belagavi). But this is for the first time that we have a photographic record of pitta breeding in state’s Western Ghats,” says Ashwin Viswanathan, a regional eBird reviewer.