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Case Summary for:
Submission No 219: Blue-winged Pitta Pitta moluccensis; Coconut Well WA, 20 December 1996. Submitted by Peter Collin's et al. Verdict: Accepted This submission involves a description of a specimen collected from Coconut Well in Western Australia on the 20th December 1996 after cyclone ‘Gertie’ passed through the area on the 19th December 1996. The bird was in good condition, apart from a severed wing and was passed on to the Western Australia Museum in January 1997. Measurements were taken of the head and bill length, exposed culmen and wing length. The weight of the bird was reported to be just 56g (perhaps underweight due to the arduous journey). The normal weight range for Blue-winged Pitta being 83-87g and for Mangrove Pitta P. megarhyncha 92-120g (Lambert 1996). The description provided as part of the submission is somewhat short on detail but does begin to elaborate on some of the more important features such as the colour of the breast and belly, the extent of the large white band across the black primaries. Brief notes were also taken of the colouration around the head and under parts. The committee carefully considered the possibility of other pittas including Mangrove Pitta which is the most similar. This species was eliminated by the length of the exposed culmen. Mangrove Pitta is reported to have a culmen length 38-42mm and Blue-winged Pitta 28-32.5mm. (Lambert 1996) This individual was measured to be 28.2mm. The extent of the white band present across the primary portion of the wing assisted in eliminating other possible contenders. Members went on to point out that the date of the occurrence and circumstances of this record are consistent with the previous three occurrences and argue strongly for natural occurrence to North West Australia after or during periods of cyclonic weather.
References and Bibliography
Tony Palliser |