Red-browed Pardalote

About the Red-browed Pardalote

The red-browed pardalote (Pardalotus rubricatus) is a small brightly coloured insectivorous passerine, endemic to Australia (Schodde & Mason 1999). A gleaning specialist, they forage primarily in eucalypt trees (Woinarski 1984).

The Latin word rubricatus means 'red-ochred' which is descriptive of their orange-red eyebrow (Higgins & Peter 2002). Other common names include red-browed diamondbird, bellbird, cape red-browed, pale red-browed, fawn-eyed, fawn-eyebrowed and pallid or red-lored pardalote (Higgins & Peter 2002).

Red-browed pardalotes belong to the order Passeriformes and family Pardalotidae of which four species are recognised: red-browed pardalote Pardalotus rubricatus, spotted pardalote Pardalotus punctatus, forty-spotted pardalote Pardalotus quadragintus and striated pardalote Pardalotus striatus.

Historically, the family Pardalotidae included pardalotes and acanthizid warblers; Gerygones, scrubwrens and thornbills (Christidis & Boles 2008). However, recent phylogenetic and morphological studies (Driskell & Christidis 2004), (Schodde & Mason 1999) indicate that pardalotes are more closely related to honeyeaters than acanthizid warblers, which resulted in... Wikipedia →