Pardalote

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Pardalotes
Pardalotus with nesting material.jpg
Pardalotus striatus ornatus with nesting material
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Superfamily: Meliphagoidea
Family: Pardalotidae
Strickland, 1842
Genus: Pardalotus
Vieillot, 1816
Type species
Pipra punctata
Shaw & Nodder, 1792
Species

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.

Contents

Pardalotes spend most of their time high in the outer foliage of trees, feeding on insects, spiders, and above all lerps (a type of sap-sucking insect). [1] Their role in controlling lerp infestations in the eucalyptus forests of Australia may be significant. They generally live in pairs in small tunnels or in small family groups but sometimes come together into flocks after breeding.

Pardalotes are seasonal breeders in temperate areas of Australia but may breed year round in warmer areas. They are monogamous breeders, and both partners share nest construction, incubation and chick-rearing duties. All four species nest in deep horizontal tunnels drilled into banks of earth. Externally about the size of a mouse-hole, they can be very deep, at a metre or more. Some species also nest in tree hollows.

Taxonomy and systematics

The genus Pardalotus was introduced in 1816 by the French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot to accommodate a single species, the spotted pardalote, which is therefore considered as the type species. [2] [3] The genus name is from Ancient Greek pardalōtos meaning "spotted like a leopard". [4] The family Pardalotidae (as a subfamily Pardalotinae) was introduced in 1842 by the English naturalist Hugh Strickland. [5]

The pardalotes consist of several species contained in a single genus, Pardalotus, with the general consensus being to recognise four species. The placement of the genus has varied, being first placed with the mostly oriental flowerpeckers (Dicaeidae), as both groups are dumpy-looking birds with bright plumage. In addition both groups have a reduced tenth primary (one of the flight feathers). Genetic analysis has shown that the two groups are in fact not closely related, and that the pardalotes are instead more closely related another Australian family, the Acanthizidae, which includes the scrubwrens, gerygones and thornbills. [6] The two are sometimes merged into one family; when this is done the combined family is known as Pardalotidae, but the two groups have also been treated as two separate families. [1]

Within the family two species, the forty-spotted pardalote and the red-browed pardalote, are fairly invariant species, but the remaining two species are highly variable. The striated pardalote contains six subspecies, [7] which are sometimes elevated to four separate species. The spotted pardalote has three subspecies, [8] one of which—the yellow-rumped pardalote—is sometimes treated as a separate species due to its distinctive plumage and call and lack of zone of hybridization in southwestern Australia. Within the family the relationships between the subspecies are unclear, although it is thought that the forty-spotted pardalote is closely related to the spotted pardalote. [1]

ImageScientific nameCommon NameSubspeciesDistribution
Spotted Pardalote - Melbourne - Victoria S4E1321 (22148139499).jpg Pardalotus punctatus Spotted pardalote
  • Yellow-rumped pardalote, Pardalotus punctatus xanthopyge
  • Pardalotus punctatus militaris
Australia
Forty-spotted Pardalote- Cape Queen Elizabeth Track.jpg Pardalotus quadragintus Forty-spotted pardalote Tasmania
Red-browed Pardalote (Pardalotus rubricatus), Strzelecki Track, South Australia.jpg Pardalotus rubricatus Red-browed pardalote Australia
Pardalotus striatus - Risdon Brook.jpg Pardalotus striatus Striated pardalote
  • Yellow-tipped pardalote, Pardalotus striatus striatus
  • Red-tipped pardalote, Pardalotus striatus ornatus
  • Black-headed pardalote, Pardalotus striatus melanocephalus, Pardalotus striatus uropygialis and Pardalotus striatus melvillensis
Australia

Description

The pardalotes are small, compact birds that range in size from 8.5–12 cm (3.3–4.7 in) in length. The spotted and striated pardalotes conform to Bergmann's rule and are larger in the south than they are in the north. The males and females are the same size as each other, but there are some differences in the plumage of some species. They have short, square-tipped tails and relatively short rounded wings (which are longer in the more dispersive species). The bill is short, deep and robust, but lacks the rictal bristles that surround the bills of many other insectivorous birds.

Distribution and habitat

The forty-spotted pardalote is endemic to Tasmania Forty-spotted Pardalote.jpg
The forty-spotted pardalote is endemic to Tasmania

The pardalotes are endemic to Australia. [1] The forty-spotted has the most restricted distribution of the four species, being endemic to Tasmania; in contrast the most widespread species, the striated pardalote, is found throughout Australia, only absent from some of the driest areas of the inland central and western deserts. The red-browed pardalote is widespread in the north and west of Australia, whereas the spotted pardalote is found closer to the coast in southern and eastern Australia.

The family are eucalyptus forest specialists. While they may occur in forests and woodlands dominated by other tree types, these are marginal habitats for the family and are seldom used. Pardalotes occupy a wide range of eucalypt habitats, from tall forests with a canopy over 30 metres (100 ft) high to low mallee woodlands with a canopy of just 3 metres (10 ft). [1]

Behaviour and ecology

Pardalotes are almost exclusively insectivores. They will occasionally consume some plant materials including seeds, and there has been an observation of one striated pardalote beating and then eating a lizard. [9] They feed singly or in pairs during the breeding season, but have been recorded as joining mixed-species feeding flocks in the winter months. [10] The majority of foraging occurs on Eucalyptus, with other trees being used much less frequently; among the eucalyptus, trees from the subgenus Symphyomyrtus are preferred. Pardalotes forage by gleaning insects from the foliage, as opposed to catching insects while flying. Pardalotes may consume a number of different types of insects, but lerps – a honeydew casing exuded by insects of the family Psyllidae – form the major component of their diet and the one to which they are most adapted. These lerps are also highly sought after by the larger honeyeaters, which aggressively defend the resource. A study of pardalotes in Australia estimated that 5% of a pardalote's day is spent evading honeyeater attacks. [11]

Movements

Patterns of dispersal include regular winter movements northwards and to lower altitudes. Striated Pardalotes migrate from Tasmania across Bass Strait to winter on the Australian mainland. Spotted and Striated Pardalotes move from higher altitude forests to lower rainfall inland plains in SE Australia. [12] Spotted and Striated Pardalotes also move intermittently following increases in psyllids food sources. Some Pardalote populations are sedentary. Forty-spotted Pardalotes are probably sedentary with local seasonal movements restricted to eastern Tasmania and its adjacent islands. Movements of Red-browed Pardalotes are unknown.

Status and conservation threats

The Striated, Spotted and Red-browed Pardalotes are widespread and common but their populations are decreasing due to habitat loss. Land clearing and commercial forestry in native eucalypt forests results in the loss of foraging habitat, nesting hollows and forest linkages essential for dispersal. The Forty-spotted Pardalote is listed as Endangered by the IUCN and under Australian legislation. The distribution of the Forty-spotted Pardalote is restricted to a narrow habitat range and the population is small and fragmented. [13] Threats include habitat loss, competition with colonial honeyeaters, especially the Noisy Miner, and parasitism. The Tasmanian ectoparasite, Passeromyia longicornis demonstrates a higher parasite load and virulence with high nestling mortality in Forty-spotted Pardalote nests compared to Striated Pardalotes. Over the 2-year study by Edworthy et al., Forty-spotted Pardalotes fledged fewer nestlings (18%) than sympatric Striated Pardalotes (26%). [14] Climate change effects are uncertain but anticipated. Reductions in the distribution of the Striated Pardalote in the Western Australian wheatbelt are predicted due to climate change. [15]

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">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">Noisy miner</span> Bird in the honeyeater family from eastern Australia

The noisy miner is a bird in the honeyeater family, Meliphagidae, and is endemic to eastern and southeastern Australia. This miner is a grey bird, with a black head, orange-yellow beak and feet, a distinctive yellow patch behind the eye, and white tips on the tail feathers. The Tasmanian subspecies has a more intense yellow panel in the wing, and a broader white tip to the tail. Males, females and juveniles are similar in appearance, though young birds are a brownish-grey. As the common name suggests, the noisy miner is a vocal species with a large range of songs, calls, scoldings and alarms, and almost constant vocalisations, particularly from young birds. One of four species in the genus Manorina, the noisy miner itself is divided into four subspecies. The separation of the Tasmanian M. m. leachi is of long standing, and the mainland birds were further split in 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lerp (biology)</span> Structure of crystallized honeydew

In biology, a lerp is a structure of crystallized honeydew produced by larvae of psyllid bugs as a protective cover. These animals are commonly referred to as lerp insects, of which there are over 300 species in Australia.

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

The bell miner, commonly known as the bellbird, is a colonial honeyeater, endemic to southeastern Australia. The common name refers to their bell-like call. 'Miner' is an old alternative spelling of 'myna', and is shared with other members of the genus Manorina. The birds feed almost exclusively on the dome-like coverings, referred to as 'bell lerps', of certain psyllid bugs that feed on eucalyptus sap from the leaves. The psyllids make these bell lerps from their own honeydew secretions in order to protect themselves from predators and the environment.

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

The spotted pardalote is a small passerine bird native to eastern and southern Australia, at elevations of up to 2,000 metres (6,600 ft). It is part of the pardalote family, Pardalotidae. 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">Forty-spotted pardalote</span> Species of bird

The forty-spotted pardalote 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.

<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-rumped thornbill</span> Species of bird

The yellow-rumped thornbill is a species of passerine bird from the genus Acanthiza. The genus was once placed in the family Pardalotidae but that family was split and it is now in the family Acanthizidae. There are four subspecies of yellow-rumped thornbill. It is a small, brownish bird with a distinctive yellow rump and thin dark bill. It inhabits savannah, scrub and forests across most of Australia and eats insects. The species engages in cooperative breeding.

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

The white-plumed honeyeater is a small passerine bird endemic to Australia. White-plumed honeyeaters are common around water and are often seen in backyards and suburbs with vegetation cover.

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

The yellow-tufted honeyeater is a passerine bird found in the south-east ranges of Australia. A predominantly black and yellow honeyeater, it is split into four subspecies.

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

The striped honeyeater is a passerine bird of the honeyeater family, Meliphagidae, found in Australia. It is a medium-sized honeyeater, about 23 cm (9.1 in) in length. Both sexes are a light greyish brown with dark brown centres to the feathers, which give the appearance of stripes. The stripes are particularly distinct on the head and back of the neck. While it is found mainly in inland eastern Australia where it inhabits the drier open forest, it is also found in coastal swamp forest from southeast Queensland to the central coast of New South Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black honeyeater</span> Bird in the family Meliphagidae endemic to Australia

The black honeyeater is a species of bird in the honeyeater family Meliphagidae. The black honeyeater exhibits sexual dimorphism, with the male being black and white while the female is a speckled grey-brown; immature birds look like the female. The species is endemic to Australia, and ranges widely across the arid areas of the continent, through open woodland and shrubland, particularly in areas where the emu bush and related species occur.

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

The bristlebirds are a family of passerine birds, Dasyornithidae. There are three species in one genus, Dasyornis. The family is endemic to the south-east coast and south-west corner of Australia. The genus Dasyornis was sometimes placed in the Acanthizidae or, as a subfamily, Dasyornithinae, along with the Acanthizinae and Pardalotinae, within an expanded Pardalotidae, before being elevated to full family level by Christidis & Boles (2008).

<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">Black-headed honeyeater</span> Species of bird

The black-headed honeyeater is a species of bird in the family Meliphagidae. It is one of two members of the genus Melithreptus endemic to Tasmania. Its natural habitats are temperate forest and Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation. Despite its name, the black-headed honeyeater eats predominantly insects.

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

The strong-billed honeyeater is a species of bird in the family Meliphagidae. It is one of two species of the genus Melithreptus endemic to Tasmania. Its natural habitat is temperate forest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tasmanian temperate forests</span> Ecoregion in Tasmania, Australia

The Tasmanian temperate forests is a temperate broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion in Australia. The ecoregion occupies the eastern portion of the island of Tasmania, which lies south of the Australian mainland.

References

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  2. Vieillot, Louis Pierre (1816). Analyse d'une Nouvelle Ornithologie Élémentaire (in French). Paris: Deterville/self. p. 31.
  3. Paynter, Raymond A. Jr, ed. (1986). Check-list of Birds of the World. Vol. 12. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 202.
  4. Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 292. ISBN   978-1-4081-2501-4.
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  8. Australian Biological Resources Study (13 October 2014). "Names List for Pardalotus (Pardalotus) punctatus (Shaw, 1792)". Australian Faunal Directory. Canberra, Australian Capital Territory: Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Australian Government. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
  9. Bell, H.L. (1975). "Eastern Striated Pardalote Eating Lizard". Emu . 75 (4): 234. Bibcode:1975EmuAO..75Q.234B. doi:10.1080/01584197.1975.11797873.
  10. Bell, H.L. (1980). "Composition and Seasonality of Mixed-Species Feeding Flocks of Insectivorous Birds in the Australian Capital Territory". Emu. 80 (4): 227–232. Bibcode:1980EmuAO..80..227B. doi:10.1071/MU9800227.
  11. Woinarski, J.C.Z (1984). "Small birds, Lerp-feeding and the problem of Honeyeaters". Emu. 84 (3): 137–141. Bibcode:1984EmuAO..84..137W. doi:10.1071/MU9840137.
  12. Woinarski, J; Bonan, A (2018). "Pardalotes (Pardalotidae)". In del Hoyo, J.; et al. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions.
  13. Bryant, S. (2018). "Tasmania's forty-spotted pardalote: a woodland survivor.". In Garnett, S.; et al. (eds.). Recovering Australian Threatened Species: A Book of Hope. CSIRO Publishing.
  14. Edworthy, A. B.; Langmore, N. E.; Heinsohn, R. (2018-08-22). "Native fly parasites are the principal cause of nestling mortality in endangered Tasmanian pardalotes". Animal Conservation. 22: 96–103. doi:10.1111/acv.12444. ISSN   1367-9430. S2CID   92375290.
  15. Chambers, Lynda E.; Hughes, Lesley; Weston, Michael A. (2005). "Climate change and its impact on Australia's avifauna". Emu - Austral Ornithology. 105 (1): 1–20. Bibcode:2005EmuAO.105....1C. doi:10.1071/mu04033. ISSN   0158-4197. S2CID   82112372.