Striated Pardalote
The striated pardalote (Pardalotus striatus) is a small, secretive olive-grey bird, more often heard than seen, foraging in foliage of mainly eucalypts and acacias. It has a loud two part whistle. It is widespread across this continent from wet coastal forest to arid lands.
Pardalotes feed on insects, lerps and other invertebrates, native bees and flies. The sexes are similar in colouring. There are six subspecies in this genus with varying plumage. At Urrbrae Wetland we mostly see substriatus with a striated head, wide white wing stripes, red wing spot, wide white eyebrow and a bright yellow face patch in front of the eye.
Both parents share nest building, incubation and tending of young. Their nest is cup-shaped or domed, of grasses, bark and rootlets, lined with feathers and hidden in a tunnel or space in earthen banks, cliff cracks or tree and stump hollows. There are 3 to 4 eggs, laid June to January.
27/01/2014
