Few birds attract more attention than pittas. These spectacularly plumaged birds are highly elusive and notoriously difficult to see. Unsurprisingly, these forest gems are highly desired by birdwatchers the world over. And none more so than the Giant Pitta.

This most elusive of pittas is widely regarded as the ‘Holy Grail’ of its family. Its scarcity and shy behaviour mean that seeing one is a real challenge. Undaunted, the Birdwatching Asia team recently took on this challenge and went on a hunt for the Giant Pitta.

Hunt for the Giant Pitta

In early October 2024, the Birdwatching Asia team had the chance to explore the pristine Tabin Wildlife Reserve in Sabah. The visit was part of our Sabah-wide expedition to highlight and promote birdwatching and bird photography locations within the state. There, we stayed at the only accommodation within the reserve: Tabin Wildlife Resort.

Our primary objective at Tabin was to cover the birdwatching and bird photography experience there. An important part of this objective was to highlight the many Pitta species found there. The most difficult part of this mission was undoubtedly our hunt for the Giant Pitta.

Pitta Preamble

The Giant Pitta has long been a mega-lifer of ours. Being such a rare and elusive bird, this desire mainly remained a dream until the chance to visit Tabin came up. While researching the location, we discovered that Tabin is excellent for various lowland forest birds, especially Pittas. 6 species inhabit Tabin’s jungles, including our main target. It seems as if Tabin is as good of a place as any in Malaysia to see the Giant Pitta. The hunt is on!

First day at Tabin 

We arrived at Tabin on a rainy afternoon. It was too late to start our hunt for the Giant Pitta, so we went for the safari instead. Despite the weather, the first afternoon turned out rather productive. We managed to spot birds aplenty during the afternoon/evening safari. Highlights included the Wallace’s Hawk-Eagle, roving flocks of Rhinoceros Hornbills and good views of the uncommon White-crowned Hornbill. Moreover, we managed to spot several nocturnal mammals. It’s an encouraging start!

Beginning our hunt for the Giant Pitta

If our first day was good, then the second day was better. We started the day at 6:30 am, led by Mr Rafel, Tabin Wildlife Resort’s most experienced bird guide. We headed straight to the core area road – the road that leads into the heart of Tabin. And the morning session turned out to be a pitta party!

Everywhere we went, a pitta was calling nearby. Barely 30 minutes in, we heard a Blue-headed Pitta calling. Not far away, a Bornean Banded-Pitta was advertising its presence. Not to be left out, a Black-crowned Pitta sang its mournful whistle nearby. Thanks to Mr Rafel’s expert guidance, we managed to spot all of these Bornean endemic pittas with some effort. Unfortunately, the Giant Pitta was nowhere to be seen or heard.

Search for the Pitta 

Our third day was even more productive bird-wise; nevertheless, the Giant Pitta remained elusive. Mr Rafel used all the tricks at his disposal – he was able to mimic the bird’s calls using just his whistling unerringly. Even so, there was no sign of our quarry.

We were just about to head back for lunch when suddenly there was a short but unmistakable response – not one, but two Giant Pittas were nearby! Approaching closer, their calls stopped, and we failed to locate the birds. Our guide decided to leave the birds be and try again in the late afternoon.

Resuming the hunt

The afternoon was gloomy and overcast, with distant thunder rumbling. It’s not ideal, but the hunt for the Giant Pitta must go on. This session was our last chance to see our target, as we would depart Tabin early the following morning.

By 5:15 pm, we arrived at the same spot the pittas called earlier. Mr Rafel again used his expert mimicry skills to elicit a response from the birds but without success. Were they hiding amongst the understory? Or did they move off? Have we failed our hunt?

Cerulean Sensation

We pressed on with our mission, with nightfall fast approaching (sunset at Tabin at 6 pm). We searched around the area, hoping for a glimpse of our target. Suddenly, Mr Rafel stopped, pointed to the jungle and said the magic words – “There’s the Giant Pitta!” Cue some frantic searching! As it was dark and gloomy, seeing the bird took some effort. Nevertheless, with Mr Rafel’s help, we could finally see it.

And what a bird it was! The bird was a male, resplendent in his white and cerulean blue plumage. It appeared to glow amongst the dark understory. The bird looked at us, seemingly bemused at the commotion it was causing. Time stood still as we admired the bird through our binoculars/cameras. Then, as suddenly as it appeared, it hopped out of view and vanished into the gloom.

Mission accomplished 

After all that excitement, recovering from the high of seeing a mega-lifter took us a while. Unfortunately, we quickly realised we didn’t get good photos of our star quarry. The best we could manage was a blurry, impressionistic blue blotch that vaguely resembled the bird. It was unsurprising as it was very dark, and none of us used a tripod (it is questionable that a tripod would’ve helped).

Here’s the photo we got……..

…….drumroll………..

Not much of a photo, unfortunately. Nevertheless, we were beyond elated to have finally ticked this species off our life list. And we certainly couldn’t have done it without Mr Rafel’s expertise. Our hunt for the Giant Pitta was an unqualified success!

Various Pitta tidbits

As we returned for dinner, Mr Rafel shared some interesting things about the Giant Pitta he learned after years of being a bird guide. These details include:

• The Giant Pitta has the largest territory of all the Pitta species he knows, and it can be several kilometres squared! That’s one of the reasons why this species is so difficult to see, as it roams such a large area.
• They are much less likely to respond once they’ve paired up for breeding.
• The best time to see the Giant Pitta at Tabin seems to be mid-year, from May until August.
• Unlike many other Bornean pittas, the Giant Pitta has yet to attend feeding stations anywhere regularly.
• The Giant Pitta (and other pittas) are more ‘easily’ encountered in the secondary forest area of Tabin. Mature secondary (logged) forest provides more food and shelter for these ground-dwelling birds.

For those who plan to explore North Borneo, we have also compiled the Sabah birdwatching locations list, which details almost all of the essential birding areas around here.

Conclusion

Our hunt for the Giant Pitta was undoubtedly a success. Even though our encounter lasted mere seconds, it was more than enough to appreciate its beauty. True, we didn’t obtain a good photo of it. However, the rush of blood to the head upon seeing such a beautiful and elusive bird more than made up for it. This was one experience that will undoubtedly live long in our memories!

Why not see the Giant Pitta for yourself? Tabin Wildlife Reserve is as good a place to see this elusive (even for a pitta) species. I recommend the 4D3N birdwatching package; this duration maximises the chances of encountering the Giant Pitta and other Bornean endemics.