Pitta caerulea

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Conservation Actions

Bibliography

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	AVES	PASSERIFORMES	PITTIDAE

Scientific Name:

Pitta caerulea

Species Authority:

(Raffles, 1822)

Common Name/s:

English

–

Giant Pitta

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:

Near Threatened ver 3.1

Year Published:

2012

Assessor/s:

BirdLife International

Reviewer/s:

Butchart, S. & Symes, A.

Contributor/s:

Yong, D.

Justification:
This species is scarce and patchily distributed within its range, and is likely to have a moderately small global population, which is suspected to be declining moderately rapidly as a result of deforestation throughout much of its range. It is therefore considered Near Threatened.

History:

2008	–	Near Threatened
2004	–	Near Threatened
1988	–	Near Threatened

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	Pitta caerulea occurs in the Sundaic lowlands, from south Tenasserim, Myanmar, peninsular Thailand, Sabah, Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia, Kalimantan and Sumatra (not recorded this century), Indonesia and Brunei (BirdLife International 2001). It is scarce or rare throughout its range, although it may be overlooked due to its shy nature. It occurs at low densities, even in optimal habitat (BirdLife International 2001, Yong Ding Li in litt. 2011).
Countries:	Native: Brunei Darussalam; Indonesia; Malaysia; Myanmar; Thailand
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population:	The population size of this species has not been quantified, but it is described as scarce to rare.
Population Trend:	Decreasing

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	This species occurs mainly in primary and tall secondary forests in lowlands and hills, up to 1,200 m. It is most often found in dense, swampy areas, although there are records from overgrown rubber estates, scrub and secondary thickets. Little is known of its precise habitat requirements.
Systems:	Terrestrial

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	Rates of forest loss in the Sundaic lowlands have been extremely rapid, owing partly to the escalation of illegal logging and land conversion, with deliberate targeting of all remaining stands of valuable timber including those inside protected areas. Forest fires have also had a damaging effect (particularly in 1997-1998). The expansion of oil-palm cultivation is an increasing threat (Yong Ding Li in litt. 2011). The magnitude of these threats may be allayed by this species's tolerance of hill forest, which is under less pressure from logging and agricultural conversion. Poaching is said to be a potential threat in parts of peninsular Thailand (Yong Ding Li in litt. 2011).

Major Threat(s):

Rates of forest loss in the Sundaic lowlands have been extremely rapid, owing partly to the escalation of illegal logging and land conversion, with deliberate targeting of all remaining stands of valuable timber including those inside protected areas. Forest fires have also had a damaging effect (particularly in 1997-1998). The expansion of oil-palm cultivation is an increasing threat (Yong Ding Li in litt. 2011). The magnitude of these threats may be allayed by this species's tolerance of hill forest, which is under less pressure from logging and agricultural conversion. Poaching is said to be a potential threat in parts of peninsular Thailand (Yong Ding Li in litt. 2011).

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:	Conservation Actions Underway No targeted conservation actions are known for this species, although it occurs in a number of protected areas. Conservation Actions Proposed Conduct repeated surveys across the species's range to determine the magnitude of declines and rates of range contraction. Conduct ecological studies to improve understanding of its precise habitat requirements, tolerance of secondary habitats and response to fragmentation. Effectively protect significant areas of suitable forest at key sites, in both strictly protected areas and community-led multiple use areas.

Conservation Actions:

Conservation Actions Underway
No targeted conservation actions are known for this species, although it occurs in a number of protected areas.

Conservation Actions Proposed
Conduct repeated surveys across the species's range to determine the magnitude of declines and rates of range contraction. Conduct ecological studies to improve understanding of its precise habitat requirements, tolerance of secondary habitats and response to fragmentation. Effectively protect significant areas of suitable forest at key sites, in both strictly protected areas and community-led multiple use areas.

Bibliography [top]

	BirdLife International. 2001. Threatened birds of Asia: the BirdLife International Red Data Book. BirdLife International, Cambridge, U.K. del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Christie, D. 2003. Handbook of the Birds of the World, vol. 8: Broadbills to Tapaculos. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. IUCN. 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (ver. 2012.1). Available at: http://www.iucnredlist.org. (Accessed: 19 June 2012).

BirdLife International. 2001. Threatened birds of Asia: the BirdLife International Red Data Book. BirdLife International, Cambridge, U.K.

del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Christie, D. 2003. Handbook of the Birds of the World, vol. 8: Broadbills to Tapaculos. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain.

IUCN. 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (ver. 2012.1). Available at: http://www.iucnredlist.org. (Accessed: 19 June 2012).

Citation:	BirdLife International 2012. Pitta caerulea. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 18 June 2013.
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