Forty-spotted Pardalote.
Photo: Purnell Collection © Australian Museum
Forty-spotted Pardalote.
Photo: Purnell Collection © Australian Museum
Distribution map of Pardalotus quadragintus
Map © Birds Australia Birdata
Forty-spotted Pardalote
Scientific name: Pardalotus quadragintus
Family: Pardalotidae
Order: Passeriformes
- Featured Bird Groups
- Small insect-eating birds
What does it look like?
Description
The Forty-spotted Pardalote is a small bird with a very short bill. It is a dull olive-green above with a pale grey chest and belly. The face and under the tail are olive-yellow. The wings are black, with prominent white spots, twenty on each side, that give the bird its name.
Similar species
The Forty-spotted Pardalote is similar to the Spotted Pardalote, P. punctatus, especially the female. However it lacks the white eye-stripe, spotted crown and red-brown rump of this species and has a distinct greenish tinge to its upperparts.
Where does it live?
Distribution
The Forty-spotted Pardalote is endemic to Tasmania but is now extremely rare, being found in fragmented populations in south-eastern Tasmania and on Flinders, Bruny and Maria Islands.
Habitat
The Forty-spotted Pardalote lives in forests and woodlands close to the coast. It favours forests dominated by the manna gum, Eucalyptus viminalis, foraging on it almost exclusively. It sometimes comes into the suburbs of Hobart.Seasonal movements
The Forty-spotted Pardalote is sedentary, but may disperse in winter in mainland Tasmania.
What does it do?
Feeding
Pairs or small groups of Forty-spotted Pardalotes forage in the canopy of trees for insects, larvae and manna. They especially favour lerps.Breeding
Forty-spotted Pardalotes nest in hollows in the limbs or trunks of mature trees. They may also use stumps and logs, and occasionally nest in the ground. They sometimes must compete with the more dominant Striated Pardalote for nest sites, which they can more successfully defend as part of a small nesting colony. A domed or cup-shaped nest of fibrous bark and grass, lined with feathers or fur is built in the hollow. Both sexes build the nest and feed the young.
Living with us
Living with humans
The declining population of Forty-spotted Pardalotes is threatened mainly by land clearing. It is listed as endangered in Tasmania as well as on the federal list.References
Pizzey, G. and Knight, F. 1997. Field Guide to the Birds of Australia. Angus and Robertson, Sydney.
Morcombe, M. 2000. Field guide to Australian Birds. Steve Parish Publishing.
Simpson, K and Day, N. 1999. Field guide to the birds of Australia, 6th Edition. Penguin Books, Australia.
Higgins, P.J. and S.J.J.F. Davies (eds) 1996. Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds, Volume 3 (Snipe to Pigeons). Oxford University Press, Victoria.
Higgins, P.J. and J.M. Peter (eds) 2002. Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds, Volume 6: Pardalotes to Shrike-thrushes. Oxford University Press, Melbourne.