The red-browed pardalote (Pardalotus rubricatus) is a small brightly coloured insectivorous passerine, endemic to Australia. A gleaning specialist, they forage primarily in eucalypt trees. The Latin word rubricatus means ‘red-ochred’ which is descriptive of their orange-red eyebrow. Other common names include red-browed diamondbird, bellbird, cape red-browed, pale red-browed, fawn-eyed, fawn-eyebrowed and pallid or red-lored pardalote.
Description: Adult red–browed pardalotes are a large pardalote with an average length of 105 mm and wingspan of 60–66 mm. Males weigh approximately 10.9g and females weigh 10.8 g. The average length of the male tarsus is 18.3 mm and female tarsus is 18.5 mm. The subspecies yorki are smaller in size, 100–120 mm long and weigh less at 9.3 g. The average length of the male tarsus is 17.4 mm and female tarsus is 17.3 mm,. Their wingspan is 58–62 mm in length.
The call of the red-browed pardalote is a distinctive five or six note song, with the first note longer and lower pitched than the remaining notes which increase in pitch and speed. Males call periodically between feeding to announce their territory from a sheltered perch within the trees canopy. It has been described as sounding similar to the call of a rosella species
Distribution and habitat: The red-browed pardalote is a widely distributed species ranging from north and central Australia, south and south central Western Australia, northeast South Australia to south west New South Wales. They may also be found throughout the Great Sandy, Gibson and Great Victoria Desert. They live in a wide range of habitats including woodlands, shrublands, tropical, arid and semi-arid regions of Australia. Eucalypt woodlands, which border watercourses such as riparian river red gum, coolibah woodlands and tall eucalypt shrublands such as mallee, are the preferred habitats.
In the desert sand-ridge country of Western Australia, red-browed pardalotes forage in the upper story of bloodwoods and marble gums dispersed amongst sand dunes. They have also been recorded in bloodwood-banksia, low–acacia and eucalypt–paperbark woodlands, mulga, acacia shrublands, spinifex plains and grasslands. Red-browed pardalotes may also inhabit sand dunes, rocky outcrops, valleys and floodplains.
Behaviour: Red-browed pardalotes are sedentary and hold foraging territories throughout the year. They are usually seen singly, in pairs or small groups of up to five or six birds. They are arboreal and spend most of their time foraging in the foliage of eucalypt trees. Their ‘scoop-shaped’ bill is used to glean insects and lerps from the leaf surface. Lerps are a major food source for pardalotes providing sugar and carbohydrates. They also consume arthropods, beetles, gum leaf beetle , flies, mosquitoes, flowerflies, leafhoppers, shield bugs, psyllids, bees, ants, wasps and vegetable matter.
Conservation status: The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has categorised the red-browed pardalote as a species of least concern. Although its population size has not been quantified, the species is common throughout its range, and its population is considered to be stable.
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