The blue-winged pitta was described by the German naturalist Philipp Ludwig Statius Müller in 1776 and given the binomial name Turdus moluccensis.

[2] Statius Müller's description was based on a plate showing the "Merle des Moluques" published by Comte de Buffon in his Planches Enluminées D'Histoire Naturelle.

[8] Measuring 180 to 205 mm (7.1–8.1 in) in length, the blue-winged pitta has a black head with a buff-coloured supercilium, white chin and buff underparts.

[13] P. moluccensis is found in a variety of habitats, up to an altitude of 800 m (2,600 ft), including broadleaved forests, parks and gardens, and mangroves,[9] though avoids dense rainforest.

[10] The blue-winged pitta mostly feeds on worms and insects, hunting them on the ground or from a low branch or perch.

[15][16][17] At breeding time, the blue-winged pitta builds a large nest, usually on the ground, made of twigs, roots, grasses, leaves and mosses.

[12] In its breeding range in peninsular Malaysia, the blue-winged pitta lays eggs between early May and late July each year.