Broadbill

The broadbills or Old World suboscines are a family of small passerine birds, in six families. The Smithornis and Pseudocalyptomena species occur in sub-Saharan Africa; the rest extend from the eastern Himalayas to Sumatra and Borneo. The infraorder also includes the Sapayoa from the Neotropics and the asities from Madagascar.

Description
Many of the broadbills are brightly coloured birds. They range from 13 to 28 centimetres in length, and live in the dense canopies of wet forests, allowing them to hide despite their brightly coloured plumage. The plumage of the three African broadbills in the genus Smithornis is in contrast dull and streaked. The bills, which give the family their common name, are broad, flat and hooked. Pittas are very colourful, with bright blues, greens, red and yellows, brightest on the head and underparts. Sexes similar, but in some banded species, with dull females. Young birds are dull, more brownish and mottled or spotted.

Behaviour
The broadbills are for the most part insectivorous and carnivorous. Prey taken include insects, spiders, centipedes and millipedes, as well as lizards and tree frogs. Prey is obtained by sallying from a perch to snatch it in flight, and gleaning the prey off leaves and branches while flying. Some species may take some fruit, but only the green broadbills of the genus Calyptomena and the African Green Broadbill are primarily frugivores (which also take some insects as well).

Broadbills feed upon insects and fruit, while Neodrepanis asities feed upon nectar, like the unrelated sunbirds, and Philepitta asities feed upon fruit, pittas feed upon insects from the forest floor. The pittas have an acute sense of smell and a secretive and rarely seen, despite its colourful plumage.

The nest of the Velvet Asity is a pear-shaped hanging structure with three white eggs. Pittas lay two-seven eggs and both sexes raise the young. Broadbills build large, pear-shaped nests with a "porched" entrance on the lower half; it is woven with from rootlets, leaves, and twigs, and often decorated with cobwebs and lichens, these are hung from inaccessible branches; females lay one-eight eggs.

They are generally gregarious, with many species moving about in flocks of about 20 individuals. Broadbills attach their purse-shaped nests to suspended vines, and leave a tail of fibres hanging below it. This gives the nest the appearance of being random debris caught in the tree, an effect further enhanced by the birds covering the nest with lichen and spider webs. Broadbills typically lay two to three eggs.

Taxonomy
The Sapayoa was originally classified in the group Pipridae, according to at least one author, the genus more accurately fits the broadbill family. The four species of asities, a family endemic to Madagascar, are sometimes included in the broadbills. It has been suggested that the group is not monophyletic.

Species


There are six families of broadbills.

Family: Sapayoidae

 * Genus: Sapayoa
 * Sapayoa, Sapayoa aenigma

Family: Philepittidae - Asities

 * Subfamily: Philepittinae - typical asities
 * Genus: Philepitta
 * Velvet Asity, Philepitta castanea
 * Schlegel's Asity, Philepitta schlegeli
 * Subfamily: Neodrepaninae - sunbird-asities
 * Genus Neodrepanis
 * Common Sunbird-Asity, Neodrepanis coruscans
 * Yellow-bellied Sunbird-Asity, Neodrepanis hypoxantha

Family: Eurylaimidae - eurylaimid broadbills

 * Subfamily: Pseudocalyptomeninae
 * Genus: Pseudocalyptomena
 * Grauer's Broadbill, Pseudocalyptomena graueri
 * Subfamily: Eurylaiminae - typical Asian broadbills
 * Genus Corydon
 * Dusky Broadbill, Corydon sumatranus
 * Genus: Cymbirhynchus
 * Black-and-red Broadbill, Cymbirhynchus macrorhynchos
 * Genus: Eurylaimus
 * Banded Broadbill, Eurylaimus javanicus
 * Black-and-yellow Broadbill, Eurylaimus ochromalus
 * Genus: Sarcophanops 
 * Wattled Broadbill, Sarcophanops steerii
 * Visayan Broadbill, Sarcophanops samarensis
 * Genus: Psarisomus
 * Long-tailed Broadbill, Psarisomus dalhousiae
 * Genus: Serilophus
 * Silver-breasted Broadbill, Serilophus lunatus

Family: Calyptomenidae - green broadbills

 * Genus: Calyptomena
 * Green Broadbill, Calyptomena viridis
 * Hose's Broadbill, Calyptomena hosei
 * Whitehead's Broadbill Calyptomena whiteheadi

Family: Smithornithidae - African broadbills

 * Genus: Smithornis
 * African Broadbill, Smithornis capensis
 * Gray-headed Broadbill, Smithornis sharpei
 * Rufous-sided Broadbill, Smithornis rufolateralis

Family: Pittidae: Pittas

 * Genus: Hydrornis
 * Eared Pitta, Hydrornis phayrei
 * Giant Pitta, Hydrornis caerulea
 * Blue-naped Pitta, Hydrornis nipalensis
 * Rusty-naped Pitta, Hydrornis oatesi
 * Blue-rumped Pitta, Hydrornis soror
 * Schneider's Pitta, Hydrornis schneideri
 * Blue Pitta, Hydrornis cyanea
 * Bar-bellied Pitta, Hydrornis elliotii
 * Gurney's Pitta, Hydrornis gurneyi
 * Blue-headed Pitta, Hydrornis baudii
 * Javan Banded-Pitta, Hydrornis guajana
 * Malayan Banded-Pitta, Hydrornis irena
 * Bornean Banded-Pitta, Hydrornis schwaneri
 * Genus: Pitta
 * African Pitta, Pitta angolensis
 * Green-breasted Pitta, Pitta reichenowi
 * Indian Pitta, Pitta brachyura
 * Mangrove Pitta, Pitta megarhyncha
 * Blue-winged Pitta, Pitta moluccensis
 * Hooded Pitta, Pitta sordida
 * Fairy Pitta, Pitta nympha
 * Noisy Pitta, Pitta versicolor
 * Ivory-breasted Pitta, Pitta maxima
 * Elegant Pitta, Pitta elegans
 * Black-faced Pitta, Pitta anerythra
 * Azure-breasted Pitta, Pitta steerii
 * Superb Pitta, Pitta superba
 * Rainbow Pitta, Pitta iris
 * Genus: Erythropitta
 * Whiskered Pitta, Erythropitta kochi
 * Blue-banded Pitta, Erythropitta arcuata
 * Garnet Pitta, Erythropitta granatina
 * Black-crowned Pitta, Erythropitta (granatina) ussheri
 * Graceful Pitta, Erythropitta venusta
 * The following species were once considered conspecific as the Red-bellied Pitta.
 * Philippine Pitta, Erythropitta erythrogaster
 * Sula Pitta, Erythropitta dohertyi
 * Sulawesi Pitta, Erythropitta celebensis
 * Sangihe Pitta, Erythropitta caeruleitorques
 * Siao Pitta, Erythropitta palliceps
 * South Moluccan Pitta, Erythropitta rubrinucha
 * North Moluccan Pitta, Erythropitta rufiventris
 * Louisiade Pitta, Erythropitta meeki
 * Papuan Pitta, Erythropitta macklotii
 * Bismarck Pitta, Erythropitta novaehibernicae