Cover Page
The cover pages of the Aug 2019 issue of Vedanta Sandesh is the beautiful avian creation of God - the cute & colorful Indian Pitta. This photo was clicked in the Katkut forests on the outskirts of Indore in June 2019.
V edanta Sandes h
The Indian Pitta (Pitta brachyura) is a small, stubby and shy bird inhabiting the scrubby and dense evergreen forest. It is locally called Navranga, meaning - the nine or multi-colored one. It has buff-colored front (lower) parts, dark green upperparts, with a bright cobalt blue patch on the wing coverts; the lower belly and vent are bright scarlet red, and the short stubby tail is dark blue. Its legs are slightly longish & thin, yet strong; the stout bill is black; there is a thick black eye stripe, a buff-colored crown stripe, and black coronal stripes. Indeed it looks like God's cute & lively shade-card. Sighting Indian Pitta requires stealth approach because it prefers dense undergrowth where it hops around foraging for insects in the leaf litter. Also seen on tree branches perched in a dignified way with its chest boldly out, and flies around from one tree branch to another, yet gives ample time to click. It is more often heard than seen and has a distinctive two-note loud whistle. The call is heard mostly at dawn or dusk time leading to its common name of 'Six-O-Clock' bird.
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