250px, Black-crowned pitta (''E. ussheri'') uttering whistles from a perch in Danum Valley, Sabah ''Erythropitta'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

pitta Pittas are a family, Pittidae, of passerine birds found in Asia, Australasia and Africa. There are thought to be 40 to 42 species of pittas, all similar in general appearance and habits. The pittas are Old World suboscines, and their closest re ...

. The members of the genus are found mostly in South-east Asia, with one species, the

Papuan pitta The Papuan pitta (''Erythropitta macklotii'') is a species of pitta. It was formerly considered a subspecies of the red-bellied pitta. It is found in the Aru Islands, New Guinea and the northern Cape York Peninsula. Its natural habitat is subt ...

, ranging into northeast Australia. The genus was formerly merged with the large genus ''Pitta'', but a 2006 study split the family into three genera.

Taxonomy

The pittas were at one time all usually placed in the genus ''

Pitta Pittas are a family, Pittidae, of passerine birds found in Asia, Australasia and Africa. There are thought to be 40 to 42 species of pittas, all similar in general appearance and habits. The pittas are Old World suboscines, and their closest re ...

'', the only genus in the family Pittidae, but when a 2006

molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

study found that the pittas formed three separate groups, the genus was split and some species were moved into two resurrected genera, ''Erythropitta'' and ''

Hydrornis ''Hydrornis'' is a genus of pitta in the family Pittidae. The genus contains thirteen species, found in South-east Asia. The genus was formerly merged with the genus ''Pitta'', but a 2006 study split the family into three genera. Taxonomy The pi ...

''. The genus ''Erythropitta'' had been introduced in 1854 by the French naturalist

Charles Lucien Bonaparte Charles Lucien Jules Laurent Bonaparte, 2nd Prince of Canino and Musignano (24 May 1803 – 29 July 1857), was a French naturalist and ornithologist. Lucien and his wife had twelve children, including Cardinal Lucien Bonaparte. Life and career ...

. The

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

was subsequently designated as the

(''Erythropitta macklotii''). The name ''Erythropitta'' combines the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

word ''eruthros'' "red" with the genus name ''Pitta''. Pittas in this genus have red or crimson coloured underparts, greenish or blueish backs and short tails. They are mostly small in size.

Species

The genus contains the following 15-17 species:

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2703151 Bird genera Taxa named by Charles Lucien Bonaparte