Fairy Pitta

The fairy pitta is a territorial bird, and the male defends its territory through calls. Its general habit is however secretive. From mid-May to early June, sometimes to late July, it likes to perch on a high tree branch in a posture resembling that of a kingfisher. However, the fairy pitta tends to repeatedly shake its tail up and down while singing on a branch.

The fairy pitta is a migratory birds and travels from Northeast Asia, where it breeds in summer (April–September) to South and Southeast Asia to spend the winter (October–March). Sightings have been reported from India and Indochina, including both the Bruneian and Kalimantan sides of the island of Borneo, and New Guinea, as well as in China, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. Recorded stopovers are in North Korea, Vietnam, Hong Kong, the Philippines, and Thailand. Following the same migratory routes in both spring and autumn every year, the majority of passages occur in April and September to October. Even though the bird is fairly widespread throughout the eastern part of Asia, the fact that it is highly localized in subtropical forests suggests that the fairy pitta is faithful to wintering sites and requires specific habitat conditions. The fairy pitta leaving from Borneo in spring arrives in the Korean Peninsula in early or mid-May and departs back to south in October. However, migrations occur throughout the country in spring and winter. The fairy pitta breeds on the coasts, islands, or in dense and moist deciduous forests, such as camellia forest, in Hwanghae Province, Gyeonggi Province, South Gyeongsang Province, and South Jeolla Province. Among those habitats, the fairy pitta mostly prefers islands off the southern part of Korea. Especially in Geoje in South Gyeongsang Province and Jeju Island, regular visits of the fairy pitta to the same locations have been reported. In Jeju Island alone, more than 60 pairs are thought to be breeding regularly in the altitude of 100 m to 600 m in Halla Mountain, making the island the most important breeding ground in South Korea. Subspecies in the Korean Peninsula is distributed to East China, as far as to the Shandong Peninsula, and limited regions in Taiwan. In Japan, the fairy pitta arrives at both the Sea of Japan and the Pacific sides of southern Japan, including the islands of Kyushu, Honshu, Shikoku, Tsushima, with notable populations in Miyazaki Prefecture, Kōchi Prefecture, Hiroshima Prefecture, and as far north as Hokkaido, in mid-May. Similar to the groups breeding in Korea, the fairy pitta in Japan favors places with dense undergrowth of bushes, ferns, scrub, and grass, but with good visibility to be aware of predators or disturbances. The bird here exclusively nests in coastal deciduous evergreen forests. In 1991, 93.5% of the breeding sites were found in broadleaf evergreen or deciduous forest, whereas only 6.5% were in mixed coniferous-broadleaf forest. In recent years, however, a trend of the fairy pitta nesting in plantations has been noticed. In Kōchi Prefecture, for instance, the fairy pitta prefers Japanese red pine (Pinus densiflora) forest during the early days of its breeding season. The fairy pitta in Japan mostly dwells on hill slopes below the altitude of 500 m, but occasional recordings indicate that some pairs live at altitudes as high as 1,200 m. In Taiwan, the species was similarly found to favor areas covered with thick crown layer, variety of trees, no shrub or vine near the nest, and steep slopes that prevent intrusion of other animals. Arriving in mid to late April, the bird is usually spotted in the central and western regions, where much of the land is hilly or mountainous, at altitudes no higher than 1,300 m. In China, the fairy pitta seems to be widely distributed in the mountains in the southeast, in mixed forests at altitudes between 500 m and 1,500 m. The same preference extends to Hong Kong, where the bird stops along its course of migrations.

As a response to rapidly declining populations in most areas, an increasing number of studies has focused on the fairy pitta in recent years, and the species is now protected under various national conservation laws. The fairy pitta is classified as a Nationally Protected Species in China, Category II protected species in Taiwan, National Endangered Species in Japan, Category I protected species in North Korea, and a Natural Monument in South Korea. Many pairs benefit from breeding in national parks or reserves that were initially designed to protect other species. Conservation of the fairy pitta requires measures specific to local levels and international cooperation, since the species is exposed to various threats during migration and stopovers. It has been suggested that more surveys of breeding sites, population sizes, and distribution of the bird be conducted along with research into its ecology, current conservation measures in parks, and the need for more sanctuaries. Enforced management of existing protected forests and restrictions on hunting and trapping are critical for saving the species. Specific measures for individual regions have been proposed. On Jeju Island, for instance, it has been advised that developments – including the construction of buildings, golf courses, roads, and trails – in forested or near breeding areas be regulated, and that a predator control program reducing the number of jungle crows and Eurasian magpies (Pica pica) should be considered.