Species

Justification
This species is considered Near Threatened as it is likely to have been affected by sustained high rates of deforestation throughout the Sunda region, which have inevitably lead to moderately rapid population declines.

Taxonomic note
Pitta granatina (Sibley and Monroe 1990, 1993) has been split into P. granatina and P. ussheri following Lambert (1996), Erritzoe and Erritzoe (1998), Erritzoe (2003) and Mann (2008) owing to morphological and vocal differences and their apparent parapatry.

Distribution and population
Pitta granatina is confined to the Sundaic lowlands, where it is known from south Tenasserim, Myanmar (no records this century), peninsular Thailand, Sabah, Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore (formerly), Kalimantan and north Sumatra, Indonesia and Brunei (BirdLife International 2001). It is locally common in suitable habitat.

Population justification
The global population size has not been quantified, but this species is described as 'uncommon to locally common' in Peninsular Malaysia, 'rare' in Thailand, extinct in Singapore, 'scarce' in Sumatra and 'widely distributed to locally common' in Borneo (del Hoyo et al. 2003).

Trend justification
Population declines are likely to have occurred in many parts of the species's range as a result of the wholesale clearance of lowland forests.

Ecology
Behaviour This species breeds between March and August, laying a clutch of two eggs. Habitat It is mainly found in dense lowland evergreen forest up to 600 m. It is also recorded from secondary and heavily logged forest, particularly in swampy areas, provided that dense understory growth and some canopy cover remains. Diet Its diet is comprised mainly of insects, including ants, beetles, wood grubs and cockroaches. It also feeds on small snails and seeds from fruit (del Hoyo et al. 2003).

Threats
Rates of forest loss in the Sundaic lowlands have been extremely rapid, owing partly to the escalation of illegal logging and land conversion, with deliberate targeting of all remaining stands of valuable timber including those inside protected areas. Forest fires have also had a damaging effect (particularly in 1997-1998). The magnitude of these threats may be allayed by this species's tolerance of secondary and logged forest.

Conservation actions underway
No targeted conservation actions are known for this species, although it occurs in a number of protected areas.

Conservation actions proposed
Conduct repeated surveys across the species's range to determine the magnitude of declines and rates of range contraction. Conduct ecological studies to improve understanding of its precise habitat requirements, tolerance of secondary habitats and response to fragmentation. Campaign for the protection of remaining tracts of lowland forest throughout the species's range.

References
BirdLife International. 2001. Threatened birds of Asia: the BirdLife International Red Data Book. BirdLife International, Cambridge, U.K.

del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Christie, D. 2003. Handbook of the Birds of the World, vol. 8: Broadbills to Tapaculos. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain.

Further web sources of information
Detailed species accounts from the Threatened birds of Asia: the BirdLife International Red Data Book (BirdLife International 2001).

View photos and videos, and hear sounds of this species from the Internet Bird Collection

Text account compilers
Benstead, P., Calvert, R., Gilroy, J., Taylor, J.

IUCN Red List evaluators
Butchart, S., Symes, A.

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2013) Species factsheet: Pitta granatina. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 20/06/2013. Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2013) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 20/06/2013.

This information is based upon, and updates, the information published in BirdLife International (2000) Threatened birds of the world. Barcelona and Cambridge, UK: Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, BirdLife International (2004) Threatened birds of the world 2004 CD-ROM and BirdLife International (2008) Threatened birds of the world 2008 CD-ROM. These sources provide the information for species accounts for the birds on the IUCN Red List.

To provide new information to update this factsheet or to correct any errors, please email BirdLife

To contribute to discussions on the evaluation of the IUCN Red List status of Globally Threatened Birds, please visit BirdLife's Globally Threatened Bird Forums.

Additional resources for this species

0