OzAnimals.com
Australian Wildlife

  Varied Sittella (Daphoenositta chrysoptera)





Varied Sittella | Daphoenositta chrysoptera photo
Varied Sittella, Lacey's Creek, South-east Queensland

Image by www.aviceda.org - Some rights reserved.    (view image details)

Varied Sittella | Daphoenositta chrysoptera photo
Varied Sittella, Kobble Creek, South-east Queensland, Australia

Image by www.aviceda.org - Some rights reserved.    (view image details)







VARIED SITTELLA FACTS

Description
The Varied Sittella is a small insect eating bird from Australia. There are five separate subspecies with varying patterns. The eye is orange with a yellow eye ring, the legs and feet are yellow. ssp leucophylla ( White-headed Sittella) has white head, grey back and white underside. ssp pileata (Black-capped Sittella has black head cap, grey back, white underside. ssp Striata (Streaked Sittella) is grey brown streaked with darker brow above and white streaked with dark below. ssp chrysoptera (Orange-winged Sittella) is grey above, streaked white below wing orange wing band most visible in flight. ssp leucoptera (White-winged Sittella) is grey above, white below with white band on wings most visible in flight.

Other Names
Australian Nuthatch, White-headed Sittella, Black-capped Sittella , Streaked Sittella, Orange-winged Sittella, White-winged Sittella

Size
11 cm

Habitat
eucalypt forest, woodland

Food
feeds on insects foraged from tree trunks and branches

Breeding
The nest is an open cup, made of bark and spider web, decorated with bark.

Range
found throughout mainland Australia

distribution map showing range of Daphoenositta chrysoptera in Australia

Credits:
Map is from Atlas of Living Australia website at https://biocache.ala.org.au licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.



Classification
Class:Aves
Order:Passeriformes
Family:Neosittidae
Genus:Daphoenositta
Species:chrysoptera
Common Name:Varied Sittella