PITTA 9/12 - Blue Banded Pitta (Lifer 571/688) Borneo Endemic

I extended 3 weekdays to my diving trip to Tawau -Semporna  with Subki. Unfortunately he is a working teacher in a Chinese school and can only spare me his guiding in the afternoon. He has created a nice port (abate without a shelter against the rain) for this special pitta. I would agree with you if you say that this is the most elegant and beautiful pitta in Malaysia. The RM300 fees to see this bird is worthy won't you agree.

This was my target bird in Tawau; you guys should not miss. Usually you have to go to Maliau Basin about 6-7 hours out from Tawau.   The bird is most active in the morning. In my encounter it came out only twice but stayed a while until the bloody squirrel came  and the pitta scuttered down the ravine in a hurry.  Apparently there is a pair of them there but only one of them come out at a time I think.....meaning they are breeding I would not know. So if you are lucky you may see a family of the pitta coming out to feed in the coming May. After that the bird would probably move on as pittas are known to be nomadic. 

This colourful bird has a black head with a yellow/orange streak above the eye, an orange-red nape, a brown throat, a chest barred with orange and dark blue (more orange towards the sides and more blue towards the centre), and a blue belly. The back is brown and the tail is blue.

Size wise its about 16-17  cm slightly the size of the Garnet. 

The Malayan banded pitta is native to tropical south-eastern Asia where its range includes Malaysia, Thailand and Sumatra. It typically inhabits primary lowland evergreen forests, including swamp forests, but can occur at altitudes of up to 1,500 m (5,000 ft). It also occurs in secondary forest, but may not persist well in this environment. Its diet is mainly insects and fruits

I would rather call it Blue-necklaced Pitta as the blue band is more speckled and patchy. 

Other birds that I  missed  in Tawau is the Rufous-tailed Sharma, White-fronted Falconet, Jerdon's Baza