Pardalote eating lerp

Pardalotes are very small, compact birds. They move fast, so it’s hard to catch one on film. This one is hanging upside down, snapping up lerp (I think) off a leaf.

Update on Tuesday 11 November: I originally wrote that the bird was snapping up insect eggs. But since then I’ve started reading Where song began by Tim Low. He describes how Pardalotes and other Australian birds scrape lerp off leaves. Lerp is a sweet carbohydrate excreted by tiny insects called psyllids.

I couldn’t get a good angle to see the whole bird all at once, but this short video gives a good idea of what it looks like.

Common name: Spotted Pardalote

Scientific name: Pardalotus punctatus

Approximate length: 10 cm

Date spotted: 2 November 2014

Season: Spring

Location: Manly Dam National Park, New South Wales, Australia

Latitude/longitude: 33°46’36.3″S 151°15’14.9″E