Pittas of the World By Johannes Erritzoe An illustrated guide to one of the most beautiful of bird families, the pittas. Combining scientific rigour with exquisite colour illustrations, this is an invaluable reference work for ornithologists, researchers, museums and lovers of natural history. Illustrated by Helga Boullet Erritzoe. ISBN-13: 9780718829612 Specifications: 297x210mm, 240pp, Hardback with colour illustrations Price: £35.00 • US$72.50 Publication: August 1998 Order this Title Now

About this Book

Brightly coloured birds native to the tropics, the pittas are unforgettable for those who have seen them flash past like a living jewel of the rainforest. There are thirty pitta species, most of which live in South-East Asia, though two are found in Africa. Their habitat is under threat, and many species are endangered.

This monograph breaks with tradition in a number of ways: besides having all the normal sections for a guide, it also contains a complete list of all scientific synonyms, and a bibliography of more than 1,300 references. It includes a list of all the little-studied islands where pittas have been found, and their status if known. It gives the museum holdings of all pitta skins, skeletons, eggs and fluid specimens in the world. Besides this, it includes a study of a little-known feature, dusky stripes, unique to the pitta family, and which has never before been described in detail. The book also describes the pittas’ unique moulting pattern: immature birds moulting into their adult plumage are often found with bald heads and necks.

The beautiful illustrations are painted in gouache by Helga Boullet Erritzoe using a dry-brush technique. Each plate has been meticulously laid out to enhance the characteristics of each species. All plates are cross-referenced to the text which contains details of age and sex of bird, and the museum where the depicted bird-skin is kept, with its registration number.

Whilst it will be of undoubted interest to amateur bird enthusiasts and lovers of natural history, the book is also academically rigorous and therefore an invaluable and beautiful reference guide for ornithologists, conservationists, museums and collectors of fine bird-books.

Contents

Topography of a Bird
Family Introduction

Plan for each species:

Scientific name
Vernacular name in English, French, German and Italian
First description and type specimen
Subspecies, their first description, type specimens and synonyms if any
Plumage description
Location of photos of live birds
Dusky stripes
Allied species
Distribution, with map
Recent records (since 1975)
Movements
Habitat
Behaviour
Vocalisation
Food and feeding behaviour
Breeding biology
Moulting
Captivity
General notes
Parasites and diseases
Museum diagnosis; description of subspecies and world inventory of all pittas in museums
Hybridisation
Status and conservation
References

Appendices:
Pitta species by island and their status
Alphabetic key to all pitta synonyms
World inventory of all pitta eggs, skeletons and fluid specimens in museums

Bibliography
Glossary
Index

Reviews and Comments

"A triumph of scholarship and bird art by the Erritzoes ... exquisite watercolour illustrations ..."
NHRS Mailorder Bookstore

"... a very thorough treatment of the pitta family. ... an up-to-date treatment. ... accurately painted ... and ... pleasing the eye ... The artist has generally managed to portray the distinctive jizz of the family accurately, using a variety of postures rather than the formulaic 'wooden' paintings that have appeared in some monographs. While clearly aimed at the academic ornithologist - for whom it will be an invaluable reference, not least for its massive bibliography - this monograph will also appeal to all birders who have been bitten by the pitta bug. The project's sponsor, The Carlsberg Foundation, has made an excellent choice, as pittas probably are the best birds in the world!"
Brian Gee, Birdwatch

"The monograph on the pittas, immediately invite comparison with the Lambert and Woodcock Pica Press volume Pittas, Broadbills & Asities. The main differences are more scientific approach (fully referenced), the taxonomic treatment, the colour plates (with one full-page plate for each species and one depicting 21 eggs) and the larger size of Erritzoe's title. ... This volume is certainly worth buying for serious ornithologists with an interest in South-East Asia in general and Pittas in particular."
Birding World

"John and Helga Erritzoe have done a wonderful job. The plates are as good as those of the best of the great last century British monographs. The texts are so accurate that there is nothing left to write."
Migrazzione e Caccia

"Each species is covered in great detail and the accounts are obviously the result of many hours in the museums and ornithological libraries of the western world. His research has been near-exhaustive. The Erritzoe's work contains a number of innovative features, the recent records section to name but one. Pitta fanatics, of whom there are more than a few, and researchers will find this work essential."
Bulletin of the African Bird Club

"A great study of dusky streaks. A fine supplement to the 'field guide'. For people who want to go in depth into the pitta family I can highly recommend this book."
Vår Fågelvärld

"A thorough review of present knowledge, with many references, including notes of museums having specimens. Essential for those with a serious interest."
John Law, Scottish Bird News

"Favourable, impressively, large colour plates. The price is affordable, which make this monograph of a fascinating and colour rich bird family accessible not only of the expert."
Journal für Ornithologie

"All species are described in great detail. Both authors have made an important and beautiful book, which must be bought by all ornithologist and aviculturist with interest in this bird family."
Gifiederte Welt

"Daniel Giraud Elliot, in 1861-63 wrote 'this family must find its new historian in some naturalist of a future generation'. It has."
Victoria Ellis, The Darlington and Stockton Times

"An extremely detailed monograph on this enigmatic and beautiful group of birds, giving details of distribution, habitat and also all known museum skins. Some of the species, such as Gurney's Pitta, are extremely endangered and all the detailed information presented in a book like this can only help us to understand a species' requirement and help with conservation in the future."
Bird Study

"This is a great book! Packed with information about this wonderful group of birds, with a strong conservation bias. It is an apparently exhaustive and up-to-date collation of fact, assessment and observation in the field and in the aviary. Adequate range maps are provided, carefully plotted for the species of limited range or for individual specimens. The fact that enough data are given for a reviewer to calculate and comment is what makes the book so valuable. ... The illustration grew on me. The more I look at them, the more I appreciate them. The exquisite detail is not just feather-by-feather but barbule-by-barbule. This is a first-rate book which bird-lovers and book-lovers will enjoy and I think find useful. The price is within the range of all."
L.W. Filewood, Corella

About the Author

Johannes Erritzoe has been working with birds as both a writer and a naturalist for nearly forty years, and is a member of a number of ornithological and conservation societies around the world. He has been married for seventeen years to wildlife artist Helga Boullet, who illustrated this book, and who has exhibited her work in Denmark and the Netherlands.

Other titles available by Johannes Erritzoe:
Birds of CITES (Hardback Edition)