The Bismarck pitta or New Ireland pitta (Erythropitta novaehibernicae) is a species of pitta. It was formerly considered conspecific with the red-bellied pitta. It is endemic to the Bismarck Archipelago in Papua New Guinea. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.
| Bismarck pitta | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Pittidae |
| Genus: | Erythropitta |
| Species: | E. novaehibernicae
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| Binomial name | |
| Erythropitta novaehibernicae (EP Ramsay, 1878)
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| Synonyms | |
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Erythropitta erythrogaster novaehibernicae | |
Taxonomy edit
The Bismarck pitta was formally described in 1878 by the Australian zoologist Edward Pierson Ramsay from a specimen that had been collected on the island of New Ireland in the Bismarck Archipelago. He placed it in the genus Pitta' and coined the binomial name Pitta novaehibernicae.[2][3] The Bismarck pitta is now placed in the genus Erythropitta that was introduced 1854 in by Charles Lucien Bonaparte.[4]
Four subspecies are recognised:[4]
- E. n. novaehibernicae (Ramsay, EP, 1878) – New Ireland (and probably Dyaul; northeast Bismarck Archipelago)
- E. n. extima (Mayr, 1955) – New Hanover Island (=New Hanover, central north Bismarck Archipelago)
- E. n. splendida (Mayr, 1955) – Tambar (north of central New Ireland, northeast Bismarck Archipelago, sometimes treated as a separate species, the Tabar pitta)
- E. n. gazellae (Neumann, 1908) – New Britain and satellites from Tolokiwa to Duke of York (southeast Bismarck Archipelago, sometimes treated as a separate species, the New Britain pitta)
References edit
- ^ BirdLife International (2017). "Erythropitta novaehibernicae". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017: e.T103656476A112307950. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-1.RLTS.T103656476A112307950.en. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
- ^ Ramsay, Edward Pierson (1878). "Description of five new species of new birds, from Torres Straits and New Guinea etc". Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales. 3: 72-75 [73].
- ^ Traylor, Melvin A. Jr, ed. (1979). Check-list of Birds of the World. Vol. 8. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 319.
- ^ a b Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (December 2023). "NZ wrens, broadbills & pittas". IOC World Bird List Version 14.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
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