Red-browed Pardalote

1. Small red or orange-red spot above the bill at the base of a yellowish eyebrow

2. Prominent yellow wing panel, unique among pardalotes

3. Distinctive call: a five- or six-note song, with the first note longer and lower, followed by quicker, higher-pitched notes

Red-browed Pardalotes are gleaning specialists, feeding mainly on insects and lerps found in eucalypt foliage, but they also forage in other trees and shrubs. They are usually seen singly, in pairs, or small groups, and may join mixed-species flocks outside the breeding season. Breeding occurs from July to December and after rainfall in arid zones. Both sexes excavate a tunnel (6–122 cm long) into sandy banks, gullies, sand dunes, or even burrows of mammals, ending in a small nesting chamber lined with bark and fine grass. Occasionally, they may nest in tree hollows or even unusual sites like upright iron pipes. Clutches typically contain up to four white eggs, incubated by both parents, who also share feeding duties.

Red-browed Pardalotes are widespread across inland and northern Australia, from northeast South Australia and southwest New South Wales through the Great Sandy, Gibson, and Great Victoria Deserts, and into the Cape York Peninsula. They inhabit a wide variety of environments, including eucalypt woodlands (especially along watercourses), shrublands, tropical, arid, and semi-arid regions. Preferred habitats include river red gum, coolibah, mallee, acacia, mulga, and even spinifex grasslands. They are most often found foraging high in the canopy of eucalypts but can also be seen in acacia-dominated woodlands and along riparian corridors.