Pitta brachyura
Silhouette: Rachael Joakim · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
The Indian pitta (Pitta brachyura) also known as Navrang, is a passerine bird native to the Indian subcontinent. It inhabits scrub jungle, deciduous and dense evergreen forest. It breeds in the forests of the Himalayas, hills of central and western India, and migrates to other parts of the peninsula in winter. Although very colourful, it is usually shy and hidden in the undergrowth where it picks insects on the forest floor. It has a distinctive two note whistling call which is heard at dawn and dusk. It is listed as least concern on the IUCN Red List as the population is considered large.
The Indian pitta was first known in England after an illustration by an Indian artist was sent by Edward Bulkley to James Petiver and given the name of "Ponnunky pitta". This illustration was included by William Derham at the end of John Ray's posthumous Synopsis methodica avium which was published in 1713. The bird was again described and illustrated by Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760 and George Edwards in 1764. The Latin names coined by Brisson do not conform to the binomial nomenclature and are not recognised by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. When in 1766... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yala National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 2 | Udawalawe National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 3 | Bandhavgarh National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 4 | Wilpattu National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 5 | Minneriya National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 6 | Mudumalai National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 7 | Kanha National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 8 | Royal Bardia National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 9 | Periyar National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 10 | Jim Corbett National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 11 | Gir National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 12 | Ranthambore National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 13 | Satpura National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 14 | Sinharaja Forest Reserve | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 15 | Nagarhole National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 16 | Bandipur National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 17 | Chitwan National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report an Indian Pitta sighting in Wilpattu National Park on a given day, based on 99 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 78th most-seen of the 169 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
November
In that month about 50% of wildlife watchers report an Indian Pitta in Wilpattu National Park on a given day, against under 5% in September, the lowest month. That is one of Wilpattu National Park's wettest months, with about 320 mm of rain against 40 mm in February.
Between 4 and 7 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Indian Pitta sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
4th of 17
Of the 17 parks where we can rate Indian Pitta sightings, Wilpattu National Park ranks 4th at about 20%. The best odds are in Yala National Park (Sri Lanka, about 30%), Udawalawe National Park (Sri Lanka, about 20%) and Bandhavgarh National Park (India, about 20%).
Same order: Passeriformes
The closest relatives of the Indian Pitta that you can see in Wilpattu National Park (order Passeriformes, Perching Birds) are Oriental Magpie-Robin (about 60%), Indian Robin (about 60%) and Black-hooded Oriole (about 60%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Indian Pitta is recorded against all the birds logged in Wilpattu National Park (99 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
