Varied sittella


The varied sittella is a small, around 10–11 cm long, songbird native to Australia. It is also known as the Australian nuthatch, orange-winged sittella and the barkpecker.

Taxonomy

The varied sittella was first described by the English ornithologist John Latham in 1801 under the binomial name Sitta chrysoptera.
Sitta is a word taken from nuthatches. The origin of it is unknown.
This species inhabits a broad range, and its appearance changes depending on its location hence the name "varied" sittella. There are five subspecies:
Its crown and head can be white, grey or black, and its body is either whitish or grey often streaked with black and grey. Its wings are black, with a broad bar in either white or cinnamon. The iris is dark orange, and the eye-ring legs and feet are orange-yellow. The beak is orange with a black tip that can extend as far as the base. Colouration completely depends on the subspecies, and certain subspecies are known to hybridize. In the future some subspecies may become species in their own right.

Behaviour

Flocks of these birds forage in trees of all heights, often descending down the trunks in a rather nuthatch-like fashion. Calls are short and rather high-pitched.