Forty-spotted pardalote

Last updated

Forty-spotted pardalote
Forty-spotted pardalote (Pardalotus quadragintus) South Bruny 3.jpg
South Bruny, Tasmania
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Pardalotidae
Genus: Pardalotus
Species:
P. quadragintus
Binomial name
Pardalotus quadragintus
Gould, 1838

The forty-spotted pardalote (Pardalotus quadragintus) is one of Australia's rarest birds and by far the rarest pardalote, being confined to a few colonies in the south-east corner of Tasmania, mainly on Maria Island and Bruny Island.

Contents

Description

A small, energetic passerine about 9 to 10 cm (3.5 to 4 in) long, the forty-spot is similar to the much commoner spotted pardalote (Pardalotus punctatus), but has a dull greenish-brown back and head, compared to the more colourful plumage of the latter, with which it shares its range, and there is no brow line. The rump is olive, the under-tail dull yellow. The chest is white with light yellow tints. The wings are black with white tips, appearing as many (closer to 60 than 40) discrete dots when the wings are folded. There is no seasonal variation in plumage; juveniles are slightly less colourful than the adults.[ citation needed ]

Distribution and habitat

The forty-spotted pardalote is as of September 2021 found reliably only in a few isolated colonies on south-eastern Tasmania, most notably on Maria Island and Bruny Island. These two islands contain 99% of the species' population; there are a few colonies scattered across mainland Tasmania, and there may be a few left on Flinders Island. [2] In 2009 there were 450 individuals on Bruny Island and 974 on Maria Island. A 2009 survey counted 1,486 birds at 54 of the 102 colonies surveyed; this compares with 3,840 individuals counted in 121 colonies in 1991 to 1997 – a loss of 47% of colonies. [3]

The birds are found almost exclusively in dry eucalypt forests with high concentration of the Eucalyptus viminalis (white gum), where it forages almost exclusively. This species provides around 80% of the nestlings' diet. [2] [3]


Conservation

In the 17 years prior to 2010/2011, there had been a decrease of up to 60% in overall population. It is listed by the IUCN as endangered, because of its very small range, its highly fragmented distribution and its very small breeding area. [3]

Threats include land clearing for sheep farming, low rainfall linked to climate change; bushfires; competitors such as noisy miners and striated pardalotes; predators such as the (introduced) laughing kookaburras; and the native parasitic fly Passeromyia longicornis . [3]

Behaviour

Forty-spots form pairs and are territorial during the breeding season, but may form small flocks during the winter. They are insect hunters and forage methodically for small insects in the canopy. They nest in tree hollows and occasionally in ground burrows.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Bruny National Park</span> Protected area in Tasmania, Australia

The South Bruny National Park is a national park located on Bruny Island, Tasmania, Australia, about 50 kilometres (31 mi) south of Hobart. The park contains the Cape Bruny Lighthouse. The highest point of the park is Mount Bruny at 504 metres (1,654 ft).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pardalote</span> Family of birds

Pardalotes or peep-wrens are a family, Pardalotidae, of very small, brightly coloured birds native to Australia, with short tails, strong legs, and stubby blunt beaks. This family is composed of four species in one genus, Pardalotus, and several subspecies. The name derives from a Greek word meaning "spotted". The family once contained several other species now split into the family Acanthizidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Superb fairywren</span> Species of bird

The superb fairywren is a passerine bird in the Australasian wren family, Maluridae, and is common and familiar across south-eastern Australia. It is a sedentary and territorial species, also exhibiting a high degree of sexual dimorphism; the male in breeding plumage has a striking bright blue forehead, ear coverts, mantle, and tail, with a black mask and black or dark blue throat. Non-breeding males, females and juveniles are predominantly grey-brown in colour; this gave the early impression that males were polygamous, as all dull-coloured birds were taken for females. Six subspecies groups are recognized: three larger and darker forms from Tasmania, Flinders and King Island respectively, and three smaller and paler forms from mainland Australia and Kangaroo Island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flame robin</span> Small passerine bird native to southeastern Australia

The flame robin is a small passerine bird native to Australia. It is a moderately common resident of the coolest parts of south-eastern Australia, including Tasmania. Like the other two red-breasted Petroica robins—the scarlet robin and the red-capped robin—it is often simply called the robin redbreast. Like many brightly coloured robins of the Petroicidae, it is sexually dimorphic. Measuring 12–14 cm (4.7–5.5 in) long, the flame robin has dark brown eyes and a small thin black bill. The male has a brilliant orange-red chest and throat, and a white patch on the forehead above the bill. Its upper parts are iron-grey with white bars, and its tail black with white tips. Female coloration is a muted grey-brown. Its song has been described as the most musical of its genus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Striated pardalote</span> Species of bird

The striated pardalote is the least colourful and most common of the four pardalote species. Other common names include pickwick, wittachew and chip-chip. It is a very small, short-tailed bird that is more often heard than seen, foraging noisily for lerps and other small creatures in the treetops.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spotted pardalote</span> Species of bird

The spotted pardalote is one of the smallest of all Australian birds at 8 to 10 centimetres in length, and one of the most colourful; it is sometimes known as the diamondbird. Although moderately common in all of the reasonably fertile parts of Australia it is seldom seen closely enough to enable identification.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red-browed pardalote</span> Species of bird

The red-browed pardalote is a small brightly coloured insectivorous passerine, endemic to Australia. A gleaning specialist, they forage primarily in eucalypt trees . The Latin word rubricatus means 'red-ochred' which is descriptive of their orange-red eyebrow. Other common names include red-browed diamondbird, bellbird, cape red-browed, pale red-browed, fawn-eyed, fawn-eyebrowed and pallid or red-lored pardalote.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellow-billed spoonbill</span> Species of bird

The yellow-billed spoonbill is a gregarious wading bird of the ibis and spoonbill family, Threskiornithidae. It is native to Australia, and is a vagrant to New Zealand, Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scarlet robin</span> Songbird species native to southern Australia

The scarlet robin is a common red-breasted Australasian robin in the passerine bird genus Petroica. The species is found on continental Australia and its offshore islands, including Tasmania. The species was originally split in 1999 by Schodde and Mason, and as the original collection by Gmelin was from Norfolk Island, this retained the name of multicolor, and is now known as the Norfolk robin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green catbird</span> Species of bird

The green catbird is a species of bowerbird found in subtropical forests along the east coast of Australia, from southeastern Queensland to southern New South Wales. It is named after its distinctive call which sounds like a cat meowing, although it has also been mistaken for a crying child. The green catbird resembles the spotted catbird, which is found in wet tropical rainforests of Far North Queensland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Weebill</span> Species of bird

The weebill is a species of bird in the family Acanthizidae. It is an insectivorous passerine that is found throughout mainland Australia. At 8 to 9 cm long, it is Australia's smallest bird. It was originally described by John Gould in 1838, and four subspecies are recognised. The weebill's plumage is nondescript, with olive-grey upperparts and paler, more yellowish underparts. It grades from more brownish plumage in the southern regions of Australia to more yellow in tropical areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-faced cormorant</span> Species of bird

The black-faced cormorant, also known as the black-faced shag, is a medium-sized member of the cormorant family. Upperparts, including facial skin and bill, are black, with white underparts. It is endemic to coastal regions of southern Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fernando Po batis</span> Species of bird

The Fernando Pó batis, also known as the Bioko batis, is a species of bird in the family Platysteiridae. It is endemic to the island of Bioko in Equatorial Guinea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silvery-throated jay</span> Species of bird

The silvery-throated jay is a species of bird in the family Corvidae. It is found in the Talamancan montane forests of Costa Rica and western Panama. The IUCN has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crescent honeyeater</span> Passerine bird of the family Meliphagidae from southeastern Australia

The crescent honeyeater is a passerine bird of the honeyeater family Meliphagidae native to southeastern Australia. A member of the genus Phylidonyris, it is most closely related to the common New Holland honeyeater and the white-cheeked honeyeater. Two subspecies are recognized, with P. p. halmaturinus restricted in range to Kangaroo Island and the Mount Lofty Ranges in South Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellow-throated honeyeater</span> Species of bird

The yellow-throated honeyeater is a species of passerine bird in the honeyeater family Meliphagidae. It is similar in behaviour and appearance to the white-eared honeyeater and is endemic to Australia's island state of Tasmania. It was formerly considered a pest of orchards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pacific robin</span> Species of songbird native to islands in southwestern Pacific

The Pacific robin, is a red-breasted Australasian robin in the passerine bird genus Petroica found in Melanesia and Polynesia. It is similar in plumage to the scarlet robin of Australia, and until recently the two were considered conspecific until split in 1999 by Schodde and Mason. Thirteen subspecies of Pacific robin are currently recognised, and these subspecies display considerable variation in plumage, foraging preferences, and habitat. The Norfolk robin was previously considered a subspecies of the Pacific robin, but is now considered a distinct species.

References

  1. BirdLife International (2022). "Pardalotus quadragintus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2022: e.T22704493A213392735. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2022-1.RLTS.T22704493A213392735.en . Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  2. 1 2 Alvaro, Alexandra (17 September 2021). "Tasmanian student Erin Bok's mission to save the rare forty-spotted pardalote bird". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Forty-spotted Pardalote Pardalotus quadragintus: Text zone". Birdlife International: Data Zone. Retrieved 27 September 2021.