During the leaner months of higher latitudes, nightfalls of birds descend to the equatorial belt to partake of the monsoon bounty. Few natives are nesting during this period, so migrants and residents suffer each other in their pursuit of prey. But not all visitors hail from the treeless tundra and chilly taiga. Perhaps seeking a change of scenery, some birds hop over from the northern end of the peninsula to spend the winter in the island city. Those who survive predators and window panes pop up at urban haunts where they feed the appetites of twitchers and shutterbugs.
Most feathered visitors favour what remains of ancient lowland forest in the central reserves, but a good number make do with islands of dense greenery in the asphalt jungle, where they skulk under aromatic bushes in search of snails and hard shelled insects. Bloodsucking annelids may be another favoured item for the Malays call them burung pachat or leech birds. The etymology of 'pitta' is unclear but it's surely a better fate to be confused with Turkish bread than bear names like shag, tit and booby. Persistent groundhugging habits have probably contributed to the tribe's trademarks of a wee stump of a tail and powerful shanks that propel the bird through the leaf litter like clockwork toys. But few begrudge the loss of showy caudal plumes, for the pittas dress their plump bodies with electric shades of primary brilliance that fail to disguise dark masks and full-headed hoods. And as long as quiet retreats of uncleared woods remain in the city, there is a chance each year to stalk and savour these hoppers that boast "the brightest hues from Nature's laboratory."
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