Gould believed that the large bill of this pitta was probably used for breaking shells of molluscs. It is similar to the pitta from India, (Asia, V, pl.64) except that the reddish-brown on the head extends to the nape, without being broken by a black bar.
The illustration was made from a unique specimen sent to London from the Museum of Leyden, Holland, for the use of Daniel Giraud Elliot in an article on the Pittidae in The Ibis. Gould was grateful to Elliot and Professor H. Schlegel of Leyden for their loan.
The birds are depicted lifesize.
D.G. Elliot, The Ibis, 1870, pp.408, 409, 414, pl.XII
DISTRIBUTION: Southeastern Asia: Malayan peninsula, Singapore and Sumatra