wandering solitarily. Its diet largely consists of earthworms of several species, beetles, and other hard-shelled insects. A variety of other small animals such as lepidoptera larvae and adults, spiders, snails, lizards, frogs, small snakes, and shrews, occasionally form part of its diet. Earthworms make up 73%–82% of the diet fed to the nestlings, followed by homoptera larvae (4%–8.6%). Although not entirely identifiable, lepidopteran adults and pupae likely make up 11% of the nestling diet. The fairy pitta's preference for earthworms with their high energy content makes the abundance of this food item critical for nesting success. Reproduction The fairy pitta makes a relatively large nest in the dark place, such as in the crevice between rocks in thick broadleaf forest or foliage on a slope, 1–5 m above the ground. The entrance is lined with cattle dung and the nest itself is lined with lichen. If necessary, the male aggressively defends the nest, chases after and attacking intruders. Such defensive behavior is only displayed until the eggs are laid. The female lays from 4 to 6 eggs per bredding attempt, from May to mid-July. The egg has a light gray background with small light brownish purple and grey dots, and is 25–27.5 mm in the major axis and 19–22.5 mm in the minor axis. Both male and female incubate the eggs; the female usually feeds the hatchlings, while the male keeps watch. In the first 4 days after hatching, the fairy pitta rarely leaves the nest. This is probably because temperatures are low during the rainy season and the nestling hatches without any down feathers. The nestling has its first plumage within 14 days after hatching. Throughout the breeding season, the adult bird rarely goes farther than 100–400 m from the nest. In June or July, the chick fledges, but the rearing continues until the nestling is ready to migrate south. The average reproductive success of the fairy pitta is 41.9%. Mortality The predators most affecting the reproductive success of the fairy pitta are snakes, followed by mammals such as macaques, cats and weasels. The raiding of nests by jungle crows (Corvus macrorhynchos) and cat snakes during breeding season has also been reported frequently. During migrations, the bird is exposed to danger from falcons. The rate at which adult fairy pittas return from the wintering grounds appears to be 16–26%; most casualties happening on the bird's northward migrating and during