The African Angola Pitta is a species of bird in the Pittidae family. It is found across Africa in most countries, but most importantly it can be spotted in Zambia.
The African Pitta is an intra-African breeding migrant, breeding in southern and south-central Africa around November-December, and then heading back out to the equatorial Africa around March-April to its non-breeding grounds. They are more scarce and localized in southern Africa occupying mostly the evergreen forest or dense thickets, often along banks of rivers and streams, and in search of food among the dirt and leaves.
African Pitta’s have a black head with a yellow stripe on their side.
They have white feathers that cover their necks with a pink wash that turns yellow closer to the chest. They have a blackish-brown bill with a slightly reddish base, a deep buff chest and sides. It’s hard to miss them with their bright olive green underparts as well as the blue and black banding on their wings. With a dark azure-blue rump, blackish flight feathers, with tips becoming pale on the ends, a black tail with a red underside and blue on top, sporting pinkish to greyish white feet, males and females are pretty hard to tell apart.
The amazing colours and detail of the African Pitta, along with its legendary elusiveness, turned the African Pitta into the Holy Grail of African birding.