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pitta
pitta , name used to refer to a genus ( Pitta ) of small, plump, brightly colored birds. The genus, including some twenty-three species, constitutes the whole of the family Pittidae. Known also as jewel thrushes, pittas are thrushlike only in their shy, retiring habits; they are not closely related to any other birds. They are characterized by unusually short, stubby tails, which are reduced to mere tufts in some species; long legs; and erectile crown feathers. Pittas are inhabitants of wet tropical forests and are distributed in Africa, SE Asia, India, China, Japan, the Solomon Islands and Australia. They seldom fly, except for migration. Normally, they progress by short, rapid hops. Pittas feed on grubs, insects, and land mollusks, scratched from among dead leaves and litter; they are thus sometimes called ground, or ant, thrushes. The "noisy pitta" of Australia chooses a rock or stump within its territory and uses it exclusively for cracking open land snail shells. Its large, oval nest, built from roots and leaves, is usually placed among roots or on the ground, but may also be built in trees. The hard, glossy eggs usually number from two to seven per clutch, and are typically white or cream colored, with red or purple specklings and lilac or gray undermarkings. Both male and female share incubation duties. The 6 1/2 -in. (16.3-cm) garnet pitta ( P. granatina ) is found in Borneo. Steere's pitta ( P. steerii ), measuring 8 in. (20 cm), is common in the Philippines. Pittas are classified in the phylum Chordata , subphylum Vertebrata, class Aves, order Passeriformes, family Pittidae. |
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"pitta." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "pitta." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-pitta.html "pitta." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-pitta.html |
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pitta
pit·ta1 / ˈpitə/ • n. variant spelling of pita. pit·ta2 • n. a small ground-dwelling thrushlike bird with brightly colored plumage and a very short tail, found in the Old World tropics. • Family Pittidae and genus Pitta: many species. |
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"pitta." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "pitta." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-pitta.html "pitta." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-pitta.html |
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pitta
pitta (pita) Middle‐Eastern; unleavened flat bread, baked as an oval or circle, which can be opened up as an envelope.
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DAVID A. BENDER. "pitta." A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. DAVID A. BENDER. "pitta." A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O39-pitta.html DAVID A. BENDER. "pitta." A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition. 2005. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O39-pitta.html |
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Pitta
Pitta (pittas) See PITTIDAE.
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MICHAEL ALLABY. "Pitta." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MICHAEL ALLABY. "Pitta." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O8-Pitta.html MICHAEL ALLABY. "Pitta." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O8-Pitta.html |
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pitta
pitta •bitter, committer, critter, embitter, emitter, fitter, flitter, fritter, glitter, gritter, hitter, jitter, knitter, litter, permitter, pitta, quitter, remitter, sitter, skitter, slitter, spitter, splitter, submitter, titter, transmitter, twitter, witter
•drifter, grifter, lifter, shifter, sifter, snifter, uplifter
•constrictor, contradictor, depicter, dicta, evictor, inflicter, predictor, victor
•filter, kilter, philtre (US philter), quilter, tilter
•Jacinta, midwinter, Minter, Pinta, Pinter, printer, splinter, sprinter, tinter, winter
•sphincter
•assister, ballista, bistre (US bister), blister, enlister, glister, lister, mister, resistor, Sandinista, sister, transistor, tryster, twister, vista
•trickster
•minster, spinster
•hipster, quipster, tipster
•cohabiter • arbiter • presbyter
•exhibitor, inhibitor, prohibiter
•Manchester • Chichester • Silchester
•Rochester • Colchester
•creditor, editor, subeditor
•auditor • Perdita • taffeta • shopfitter
•forfeiter • outfitter • counterfeiter
•register • marketer
•cricketer, picketer
•Alistair • weightlifter • filleter
•fillister • shoplifter
•diameter, heptameter, hexameter, parameter, pentameter, tetrameter
•Axminster • Westminster
•limiter, perimeter, scimitar, velocimeter
•accelerometer, anemometer, barometer, gasometer, geometer, manometer, micrometer, milometer, olfactometer, optometer, pedometer, photometer, pyrometer, speedometer, swingometer, tachometer, thermometer
•Kidderminster • janitor
•banister, canister
•primogenitor, progenitor, senator
•administer, maladminister, minister, sinister
•monitor • per capita • carpenter
•spanakopita • Jupiter • trumpeter
•character • barrister • ferreter
•teleprinter
•chorister, forester
•interpreter, misinterpreter
•capacitor • ancestor • Exeter
•stepsister
•elicitor, solicitor
•babysitter • house-sitter • bullshitter
•competitor • catheter • harvester
•riveter • banqueter • non sequitur
•loquitur
•inquisitor, visitor
•compositor, expositor
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Cite this article
"pitta." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "pitta." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-pitta.html "pitta." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-pitta.html |
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