Pittas, Broadbills and Asities

About this book

Pittas, broadbills and asities include some of the most beautiful, elusive and sought-after birds in the world.

Inhabitants of tropical and subtropical forests of the Old World, pittas are medium-sized insectivorous terrestrial birds. Most are brilliantly coloured, and rather thrush like in their behaviour. They are generally solitary, and have a well-deserved reputation for secretive, skulking habits, adding to the challenge of seeing them in their often dark environment. The 52 species of pittas currently recognised largely occur from Asia through Wallacea, New Guinea and Australia, with two (perhaps three) in Africa.


Broadbills are typically chunky, docile birds with large heads, broad flattened beaks and short legs. They are also generally colourful, but they are not terrestrial and are mostly sociable. They form a diverse group of 18 species in nine genera, of which four species are confined to Africa, with the rest in Asia. The asities form a family endemic to Madagascar. Of the four species, two are similar to broadbills, with the other two appearing more similar to sunbirds. Breeding males have facial wattles (as do two of the broadbill species).

The first monograph of these birds was published in 1996. This book, by the same author, is its follow-up. Completely revised and updated, it is the product of more than 25 years of further research and study. Pittas, Broadbills and Asities draws together a wealth of material from both the literature and from unpublished sources to provide the ultimate reference to these birds, from identification and taxonomy to habitat requirements, biology and ecology, accompanied by a stunning photographic selection, and the art of Martin Woodcock.

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Biography

Frank Lambert studied birds in Southeast Asian rainforests for his doctorate and in subsequent research. An avid world birder, Frank started his career working for various conservation NGOs, but in recent years has mainly worked as an international bird guide. Having lived in Asia for more than 20 years and travelled the globe in search of birds, Frank has seen almost all the species featured in this book.

Apart from seeing birds, Frank's main passion is to capture the sounds that they make. He has recorded the songs and calls of more than 5,000 bird species, most of which are freely available at xeno-canto.org.

The late Martin Woodcock was one of Britain's leading bird artists. A former chair of the African Bird Club, his greatest work was the art for the monumental Birds of Africa series, published between 1981 and 2007. Martin was a great student of tropical birds, and his other work included the plates for the first edition of this book. Martin completed the cover art before his passing in 2019.