Forty-Spotted Pardalote

The forty-spotted pardalote is one of the smallest and rarest birds in Australia. It is classified as endangered.

It belongs to a group known as 'diamond birds' because of their tiny, jewel-like appearance. Between nine and 10 centimetres (three and four inches) long, forty-spotted pardalotes have a light olive-green body, with pale yellow around their eyes and on their rump. Their wings are black, with distinctive white dots.

Forty-spotted pardalotes are found only in eastern Tasmania - the Darling Ranges on Flinders Island, Maria Island, Tinderbox, Bruny Island, Lime Bay and Conningham. Colonies of more than 100 birds are found only on Bruny Island and Maria Island.

Forty-spotted pardalotes live and feed in the upper foliage of white gum eucalypts. They are called foliage gleaners because they pick insects from the leaves. They also eat a sugary secretion produced by the tree in response to insect attacks.