Varied Sittella, orange-winged morph.
Photo: Purnell Collection © Australian Museum
Varied Sitella, white-headed morph.
Photo: Purnell Collection © Australian Museum
Varied Sitella, white-winged morph.
Photo: Purnell Collection © Australian Museum
Varied Sittella, black-capped morph.
Photo: Purnell Collection © Australian Museum
Distribution map of Daphoenositta chrysoptera
Map © Birds Australia Birdata
Varied Sittella
Scientific name: Daphoenositta chrysoptera
Family: Neosittidae
Order: Passeriformes
- Featured Bird Groups
- Small insect-eating birds
What does it look like?
Description
The Varied Sitella is a small, short-tailed, dumpy bird which is usually heard before it is seen in the upper branches. There are five sub-species, differing in the patterns on the head and neck, the amount of streaking and in the wing patterns. The iris is orange-yellow, and the eye-ring, legs and feet are yellow. The bill is long and slender and slightly up-turned. All adults are greyish above and white below, with varied streaking. The upper tail coverts are pale, with dark-barring underneath. The tail is dark with a white tip. The upper wings are dark; in southern and eastern birds the underwings have an orange-rufous band, while in the north the band is white. Males have longer bills than females and tend to feed lower. Sitellas are usually seen in flocks, moving swiftly between trees or foraging busily over branches or the trunk. This species has many names including Black-capped or Orange-winged Sitella, Nuthatch or Barkpecker.
Similar species
The Varied Sitella's distinctive shape, size, calls and foraging behaviour make this species unmistakeable.Where does it live?
Distribution
Varied Sitellas are endemic (only found in) and widespread in mainland Australia.
Habitat
Varied Sitellas are found in eucalypt woodlands and forests throughout their range. They prefer rough-barked trees like stringybarks and ironbarks or mature trees with hollows or dead branches.
What does it do?
Feeding
Varied Sitellas feed mainly by gleaning on tree trunks or branches, moving downwards or along branches, searching for insects. They land at the top of a tree and work downwards, searching and poking into cracks and under things, chattering noisily.Breeding
The Varied Sitella's nest is a deep open cup, like a cone, of bark and spider web, decorated on the outside with long pieces of bark, camoflaged to look like the fork or branch where it is placed. This species usually breeds cooperatively, with the breeding pair having several helpers. They will sometimes also breed in single pairs. Only the breeding female incubates the eggs and broods the young. All help to feed the young and remove faecal sacs.
Living with us
Living with humans
Varied Sitellas may have declined in some areas following the clearing of habitat and removal of woodland.
References
Morcombe, M. 2000. Field guide to Australian Birds. Steve Parish Publishing.
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.
Beruldsen, G 2003. Australian Birds: Their Nests and Eggs. Self-published, Queensland.