Noisy Pitta - Pitta versicolor

Now there is a personal reason I am posting this bird today.  I was on holiday with my daughter and her family and we were staying in a cabin in a wooded area of Queensland.  My grand daughter, Annika, who was only 3 years old at the time, came rushing along one of the paths, very excitedly to find me and tell me she had seen a bird she had never seen before at home.  On the way, I asked her what it was like.  She replied “It has the colours of a Rainbow Bee Eater and behaving a bit like a Willy Wagtail”!!    We turned the corner and the bird was just rushing into the underground, hence the ‘not so good shot’!  However, afterwards when I thought about her description of this bird, she was spot on.  How amazing is that.  I have never seen this bird again.

Noisy Pitta - Pitta versicolor - 18–20 cm

Tropical and subtropical rainforests, monsoon and dense eucalyptus forests. Forages in leaf litter of forest floor; large snails commonly taken, these broken using a rock as anvil. Shy, usually silent except in breeding season, when calls almost incessantly. Has loud, far-carrying, double noted, mellow whistles, ‘quarreek-quarrik’, commonly described as ‘walk-to-work’; calls from ground and from high in forest canopy. Also an occasional single, harsh, mournful ‘kieow’ although we didn't hear any noise from it. 

Breeding

Oct.–Jan. in S; in far N breeds through the later months of the wet season, Jan.–Apr. 

The Noisy Pitta defends a territory in rainforest or, in far N, monsoon forest. The nest is bulky, large for the size of the bird, and incorporates quite big sticks as well as dead leaves, bark and moss. It also has a debris-surrounded side entrance that is approached across a rough ramp of sticks and debris. The resulting appearance is almost indistinguishable from the natural accumulation of sticks and litter found between the buttresses of rainforest trees. 

Clutch 3–4. Incubation is by both sexes and probably takes some 16–18 days.

This is a shot I took of Annika and Danniel in the rain forest when he was 8 years old at the time however he was not as interested in birds as Annika.  He is more of any action and technical man!

I will leave you with a shot of my daughter Judith and Jon her lovely husband.  I just have to tell you that although their home is in Australia, they moved for 2 years in February to Malawi, Africa and I will be going out there to visit them at the end of my summer and am also visiting a nursing friend in Johannesburg.

Now how exciting is that!

As most of you know I am on holidays and I up loaded one shot last night when I arrived at my accommodation for you to see where I was staying last night.  Below is the view I had while having dinner and am now writing this post for you.  Isn't it magnificent.  It is nearly 7.00am here and when I publish this post I am going to walk along that beach.  The sun is out this morning and then I am going to head to Donegal for 1 night before going onto Tory Island, the most remote island in Ireland! 

I am sorry as I am travelling I will not be able to comment on any of your posts  although if I have internet next place, I may have the opportunity to read some.  Have a lovely day/evening.

 I am linking this post with WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY.

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