Red-browed Pardalote

The red-browed pardalote (Pardalotus rubricatus) is a small brightly coloured insectivorous passerine, endemic to Australia (Schodde & Mason 1999). A gleaning specialist, they forage primarily in eucalypt trees (Woinarski 1984). The Latin word rubricatus means 'red-ochred' which is descriptive of their orange-red eyebrow (Higgins & Peter 2002). Other common names include red-browed diamondbird, bellbird, cape red-browed, pale red-browed, fawn-eyed, fawn-eyebrowed and pallid or red-lored pardalote (Higgins & Peter 2002). == Taxonomy == Red-browed pardalotes belong to the order Passeriformes and family Pardalotidae of which four species are recognised: red-browed pardalote Pardalotus rubricatus, spotted pardalote Pardalotus punctatus, forty-spotted pardalote Pardalotus quadragintus and striated pardalote Pardalotus striatus. Historically, the family Pardalotidae included pardalotes and acanthizid warblers; gerygones, scrubwrens and thornbills (Christidis & Boles 2008). However, recent phylogenetic and morphological studies (Driskell & Christidis 2004), (Schodde & Mason 1999) indicate that pardalotes are more closely related to honeyeaters than acanthizid warblers, which resulted in the separation of this group into two families, Pardalotidae and Acanthizidae (Christidis & Boles 2008). The pardalote, acanthizid warbler, honeyeater and bristlebird family, form a monophyletic group (Christidis & Boles 2008). === Subspecies === Matthews described the subspecies Pardalotus yorki in 1913 (Higgins & Peter 2002). Their range begins…