heres a photo of two Pardalotes from near Parrakie, S.A, these two have different body patterns, one has a black head with white dots, i assume these are a male and female pair, they were in a group of around 15 Pardalotes, these two were sitting on a branch doing a "bobbing" up down movement with thier wings held out. Any help with an ID and a confirmation of male/female?? would be appreciatted.
Thanks Matthew
Two separate species I think, Matt - Striated Pardalote at the top, Spotted Pardalote at the bottom. The bobbing behaviour might reflect competition for resources. Or a case of mistaken species gender!
the spotted headed one i have ID as the Yellow rumped Pardalote-Pardalotus punctatus xanthopyge, the SA Mallee form according to what i can find, heres a closer clearer pic of that particular form
Thanks Matthew
heres a photo of the other form that doesnt have spots on its head, both were in a group that was flying around together, this is the first time i have seen this particular form/type and they were out in several groups today always with the Yellow rumped Pardalotes
Thanks Matthew
yes it looks as if to be a Striated Pardalote - Pardalotus striatus, the little red spot on the wing below the shoulder is present on pictures for that species, thanks for your help with the ID, can i ask so male and female Pardalotes will look the same? so no colour or pattern differences between males and females of the same type of Pardalote
Thanks Matthew
According to Morcombe's app, the male spotted pardolote has the yellow throat whereas the female does not. Morcombe also makes reference to the "yellow rumped" pardolote within the description of "Spotted Pardolote" listing with 3 separate sub species. Subspecies can be confusing sometimes.
Dale Huonville, Tasmania
And from what I can see in the field guides there's no difference in appearance between the female & male Striated Pardalote subspecies substriatus which inhabits much of inland Australia including the SA mallee.