| 释义 |
‖ Pitta Ornith.|ˈpɪtə|
[mod.L., a. Telugu piṭṭa anything small, a pet.]
Name of a genus of passerine birds, type of the family Pittidæ, the Ant-thrushes of the Old World, species of which inhabit China, India, and Australia, and one, P. angolensis, the W. Coast of Africa. They are remarkable for their vivid colouring, strong bill, short tail, and long legs, and range in size between a lark and a jay.
1840Penny Cycl. XVIII. 194/2 Pitta Gigas,..Giant Pitta. 1894Newton Dict. Birds 728 Few Birds can vie with the Pittas in brightly-contrasted coloration. 1896List Anim. Zool. Soc. Lond. 303. 1898 Morris Austral Eng. 357/1.
Hence ˈpittid, any bird of the family Pittidæ; ˈpittine a., of or belonging to the genus Pitta; ˈpittoid a., allied in form to the pittas.
1890Cent. Dict., Pittine. 1895Funk's Stand. Dict., Pittid, Pittoid. |