Pardalotes

(Pardalotidae)

Class Aves

Order Passeriformes

Suborder Passeri (Oscines)

Family Pardalotidae

Thumbnail description
Small, short-tailed, dumpy birds with short, scoop-shaped bills

Size
3.2–4.7 in (8–12 cm)

Number of genera, species
1 genus; 8 species

Habitat
Eucalypt forest and woodland

Conservation status
Endangered: 1 species

Distribution
Australia and Tasmania

Evolution and systematics

Recent DNA studies suggest an affinity between the pardalotes and acanthizids that has resulted in placing both in the same family in most taxonomic treatments. However, genomic distances are large, and the two groups have substantial differences in morphology and behavior, including wing structure, nesting behavior, osteological features, and plumage patterns. Hence, each group as been accorded family status in the most recent taxonomic treatment (1999).

Physical characteristics

Pardalotes are noisy, generally bright colored, conspicuous, beautiful, dumpy little birds, with short bills and tails. They have 12 rectrices and short pointed wings with a vestigial 10th primary. All have some combination of yellow, brown, and black with white spots or streaking. The sparkling color combinations give them the name "diamond bird". Most species are monomorphic in plumage, with juvenile plumage muted.

Distribution

The pardalotes are endemic to Australia, and are found throughout the continent where suitable habitat occurs; they are only missing from a few patches of southern desert. One species is endemic to Tasmania and has a very restricted distribution; other species are found across the continent.

Habitat

A broad spectrum of woodlands and forest, primarily eucalypt and acacia, from wet coastal to arid conditions.

Behavior

Solitary during nesting, but gregarious during winter and migratory or nomadic post-breeding dispersal. They often forage in mixed species flocks in winter. They actively forage, searching foliage and gleaning scale insects and other invertebrates. Their calls consist of generally loud two- to five-note whistles, often repeated endlessly. One species is monotypic, the others polytypic.

Feeding ecology and diet

Scurry about foliage, gleaning a wide variety of invertebrates from leaves and twigs with their scoop-shaped bills. They prefer soft-bodied invertebrates, including small wasps, spiders, weevils, and termites. They also eat lerps (sugary secretions of psillid insects).

Reproductive biology

Pairs defend nesting territories that they advertise with repetitive two- to five-note note whistles. They are monogamous, some maintaining pair bonds throughout the year, and some may have helpers at the nest. Nests are cup-shaped, sometimes domed, of plant fibers in tunnels burrowed into banks or horizontal ground; sometimes in tree hollows.

Conservation status

The forty-spotted pardalote (Pardalotus quadragintus) has six small disjunct populations that are confined to southeastern Tasmania. It is Endangered and has been the subject of an intensive recovery plan. With protection of suitable habitat, its prospects are encouraging. The other pardalote species are geographically widespread and are not considered threatened.

Significance to humans

None known.

Species accounts

List of Species

Forty-spotted pardalote

Pardalotus quadragintus

taxonomy

Pardalotus quadragintus Gould, 1838, Tasmania.

other common names

English: Golden-rumped diamondbird; French: Pardalote de Tasmanie; German: Tasmanpanthervogel: Spanish: Pardalote de Cuarenta Manchas.

physical characteristics

3.5–3.9 in (9–10 cm); 0.38 oz (10.7 g). Sexes similar in plumage.

distribution

Restricted to southeastern Tasmanian coastal forests and woodlands.

habitat

Dry sclerophyll forest and woodlands; prefers white gum (Eucalyptus viminalis).

behavior

Nests in loose colonies but forms flocks in winter, often with other species. Soft two-note call.

feeding ecology and diet

Gleans eucalypt foliage and twigs. Forages on a broad spectrum on invertebrates, but apparently does not take many scale insects as other pardalotes.

reproductive biology

Often nest within 33 ft (10 m) of other nests in loose associations. The nest is a dome or cup of plant fibers, lined with grass or feathers, placed in a tree hollow up to 66 ft (20 m) above the ground. Clutch is three to five white eggs; incubation period 16 days, with fledging about a month later.

conservation status

Endangered. Population declined in twentieth century, probably due to competition with spotted pardalotes (Pardalotus punctatus). Current population is probably about 3,000 birds in about six disjunct populations (several on islands). Has been the focus of a recovery team project. With habitat protection, population will probably stabilize.

significance to humans

None known.

Red-browed pardalote

Pardalotus rubricatus

taxonomy

Pardalotus rubricatus Gould, 1838, Australia. Two subspecies.

other common names

English: Fawn-eyed diamond bird; French: Pardalote à sourcils rouge; German: Rotbrauen-Panthervogel; Spanish: Pardalote de Cejas Rojas.

physical characteristics

3.9 in (10 cm) 0.32–0.39 oz (9–11 g). Sexes similar in plumage; immature birds are drab pale-olive above, light gray below.

distribution

Arid areas across most of northern and central Australia. P. r. yorki confined to Cape York Peninsula.

habitat

Eucalypts and acacias in drier woodlands, forest, and scrub. Frequent eucalypts along river beds.

behavior

Often found with other pardalote species; often feeds in trees with sparse vegetation. Distinctive five-note call.

feeding ecology and diet

Gleans a broad spectrum of invertebrates from foliage and twigs of primarily eucalypts.

reproductive biology

Cup-shaped nest of plant fibers lined with grass at end of 1.6–2.3 ft (50-70 cm) burrow. Clutch two to four white eggs.

conservation status

Populations widespread and currently not threatened. Overgrazing and habitat alteration pose potential threats.

significance to humans

None known.

Spotted pardalote

Pardalotus punctatus

taxonomy

Pardalotus punctatus Shaw, 1792, New Holland (Australia). Three subspecies.

other common names

English: Diamond bird; bank diamond; French: Pardalote pointillé German: Fleckenpanthervogel; Spanish: Pardalote Moetado.

physical characteristics

3.5 in (9 cm); 0.32 oz (9g). Sexually dimorphic in plumage: males have yellow throats and breast.

distribution

Australia. P. p. punctatus: coastal belt from southern Queensland to eastern South Australia and southwestern West Australia and in Tasmania; P. p. millitaris: coastal belt of north central

Queensland; P. p. xanthopygae: mallee and mulga areas of Victoria to Western Australia.

habitat

Eucalypt forests and woodlands, residential parks and gardens. P. p. xanthopygae mostly in mallee and mulga woodlands.

behavior

Territorial during breeding season, but forms flocks of a dozen birds or more in winter, and may join mixed species foraging flocks. Two- or three-note call.

feeding ecology and diet

Gleans twigs and foliage for scale insects, and a wide variety of other invertebrates.

reproductive biology

Nest is of plant fibers about 19.7 in (50 cm) in tunnel burrowed into earthen bank or flat ground, often near a creek. The usual clutch is three to five white eggs incubated by both parents; hatching is in 14-16 days, fledging in about a month.

conservation status

Not threatened, but habitat alteration is a potential threat.

significance to humans

None known.

Striated pardalote

Pardalotus striatus

taxonomy

Pardalotus striatus Gmelin, 1789, Tasmania. Six subspecies.

other common names

English: Black-headed pardalote; stripe-crowned pardalote; red-tipped pardalote; yellow-tipped pardalote; French: Pardalote à point jaune; German: Streifenpanthervogel; Spanish: Pardalote Estriado.

physical characteristics

3.5–4.5 in (9–11.5 cm); 0.42 oz (12 g). Sexes similar in plumage, immatures with muted head color.

distribution

Australia except for desert sections of interior. P. s. uropygialis: northern Australia; P. s. melvillensis: Melville and Bathurst Islands; P. s. melanocephalus: coastal belt of Queensland; P. s. ornatus: coastal New South Wales; P. s. striatus: Tasmania; P. s. substriatus: Australia from New South Wales to Western Australia.

habitat

Widely distributed through eucalypt woodlands and forest, but also in rainforest and mangroves.

behavior

Form flocks during winter. The races striatus, substriatus, and ornatus are nomadic or migratory; other races tend to be sedentary. Loud and repetitive two- to three-note call.

feeding ecology and diet

Gleans foliage and twigs, primarily in eucalypts and acacias, for a broad spectrum of invertebrates.

reproductive biology

Nest is cup-shaped, partly or completely domed, of plant fibers, at the end of an earthen burrow or in a tree hollow. Both parents contribute to burrow excavation and nest construction. Typical clutch is three to five white eggs, incubated by both parents.

conservation status

Not threatened; found in a broad spectrum of environments and across a wide geographic range.

significance to humans

None known.

Resources

Books

Christidis, L., and W. E. Boles. The Taxonomy and Species of Birds of Australia and its Territories. Hawthorn East: Royal Australasian Ornithologists' Union, Monograph 2,1994.

Longmore, W. Honeyeaters and Their Allies. North Ryde, NSW: HarperCollins, 1991.

Pizzy, G., and F. Knight. The Graham Pizzy & Frank Knight Field Guide to the Birds of Australia. Sydney: HarperCollins Publishers, 1997.

Schodde, R., and I. J. Mason. The Directory of Australian Birds: Passerines. Canberra: CSIRO Wildlife and Ecology, 1999.

Simpson, K., and N. Day. Birds of Australia. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1999.

William E. Davis, Jr