VARIED SITTELLA
Bird life with Tony Wellington
I came across this Varied Sittella in Eumundi Conservation Park. To be exact, it’s the White-headed subspecies of the Varied Sittella.
These birds act a lot like Treecreepers, scurrying up and down trunks and branches while hunting for insects in the bark. There is a difference, however. Treecreepers almost always travel from the lower trunk to the top with their head uppermost, whereas Sitellas are just as likely to spiral head downwards, starting at the top of trees. They prefer rough-barked trees such as stringybarks, ironbarks and casuarinas.
This species breeds cooperatively, with the breeding pair joined by several helpers, all of whom feed the young and carry out nest cleaning duties.
These charming little birds are also known as Nuthatches or Barkpeckers.
Tony has worked as a filmmaker, artist, author, photographer and media lecturer. He has also been a Councilor on both the Sunshine Coast and Noosa Councils, as well as Mayor of Noosa.
