Varied Sittella (Daphoenositta chrysoptera)
Photo: Trevor Rix
Description
- The Varied Sittella is a small bird that grows up to 13.5-17 cm long.
- There are 5 sub-species that have different patterns on their head, neck and wings.
- It has a sooty grey head, a pale grey back with dark streaks, dark wings with a reddish bar, and a white-tipped black tail.
- It lives in large groups and members of the flock work together to raise young birds.
- It can be seen hopping up and down tree branches to find food such as insects and spiders.
- It breeds from September to February, building nests high up in trees.
Find out more about the Varied Sittella on Canberra NatureMapr.
Where to find them
The Varied Sittella is found across coastal and inland areas across Australia. It lives in tree-filled areas, including:
- eucalypt forests and woodlands
- acacia shrub
- mallee
- coastal scrub
- trees along roadsides and on farms
- golf courses, orchards and parks.
Areas that don't have enough trees don’t have enough resources to support large groups of the Varied Sittella. It prefers to live in areas that have large living and dead trees, especially rough-barked eucalypts, which are needed for food, shelter, and nesting.
Conservation threats
The main threat to the Varied Sittella is the loss of its woodland habitat. Other threats include:
- tree clearing, even on a small scale for fence lines and roads
- removal of rural or paddock trees
- overgrazing
- invasive weeds
- patchy or fragmented woodlands
- competition from pest species such as Noisy Miners (Manorina melanocephala).
Conservation status
- Australian Capital Territory – Vulnerable (Nature Conservation Act 2014).
Conservation actions
Conservation aims to protect the habitat of the Varied Sittella, including to:
- promote habitat regeneration
- avoid removing dead trees
- reduce the impact of fire on woodland areas.