I don’t think I have ever worn stripes in my life – at least I cannot remember. And I think not doing so is good fashion advice unless you are a cute-looking 17-year-old girl. But obviously, the Javan Banded Pitta has a different opinion.
The Javan Banded Pitta looks similar to the Malayan Banded Pitta and the Bornean Banded Pitta, but – after the usual to and fro of lumping and splitting – is now considered a separate species. A blog post by Dean Veal of the Grant Museum describes the drama behind these developments:
“In 2010 a study published by Rheindt and Eaton rocked the banded pitta world to its foundations, much of which are still reeling from that six-page paper. The accepted consensus was that there existed six subspecies of the Pitta guajana, further studies have, however, discredited three of those due to either mislabeled museum specimens or lack of features that distinguished some subspecies from other subspecies, leaving just three potential subspecies. … The three subspecies were so distinct in their morphology that until the late 1930s they were just separate species but a study later decided to put them all together in one species … Some 60 years after this, Rheindt and Eaton decided to revisit this … They concluded that based on these morphological, coloration, vocalization and ecological differences that the three subspecies were distinct enough to warrant being re-elevated to species status.”
Judging from the low-key reaction of my guide to spotting the bird, it seems to be reasonably common in East Java, and indeed I think I saw it at about four different bird blinds. It is indeed listed as Least Concern, despite being trapped in considerable numbers:
A paper covering the period around 2014-2015 found that the Javan Banded Pitta was the most numerous Pitta species by far on sale in Indonesian markets —75 individuals were of this species compared to a total of only 6 other pittas (Elegant Pitta, Hooded Pitta, Malayan Banded Pitta).
The paper also provides a rationale: – the Javan Banded Pitta is native and widespread in Java, and generally inhabits lowland forest, which is easily accessed by bird trappers.
The price of such a pitta was about 42 USD – an amount the paper calls “relatively high”, thus somewhat contradicting the title of the paper (“Pittas for a Pittance”), but I guess the alliteration was too tempting for the authors to resist.
Apparently, the scientific name Hydrornis guajanus is based on a typo – Guiana (not Guaiana) means Java. Fortunately, the bird does not care as much as if somebody constantly misspelled my name.
Weirdly, there is also a YouTube video titled “Javan Banded Pitta” which – rather than showing anything avian – is a slow and moderately boring piano piece with the less-than-promising subtitle “Soft Focus – Therapy Ballads”. Better stick with the music recommendations in some of my previous posts, or just listen to “Deep End” by The National again.
Maybe playing the real vocalization of a Javan Banded Pitta would be disappointing anyway – one blog post states that the bird “is not very popular with bird collectors because of its very simple voice, unlike other chirping birds” (though the vocalization does not seem bad enough to deter bird trappers).
Interestingly, Cornell notes that “Sexes may occasionally separate, at least seasonally and in E Java” – and indeed, I never saw a male and a female together, or even at different times at the same hide. Maybe this is a way for the female – which looks somewhat duller than the male – to avoid a direct comparison.
A female Javan Banded Pitta. Looks pretty decent to me, at least when not standing right next to a male.
But then, why is the male leaving?
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