The spotted pardalote (Pardalotus punctatus ) is one of the smallest of all Australian birds at 8 to 10 centimetres (3.1 to 3.9 in) in length, and one of the most colourful; it is sometimes known as the diamondbird. Although moderately common in all of the reasonably fertile parts of Australia (the east coast, the south-east, and the south-west corner) it is seldom seen closely enough to enable identification.
Three subspecies are recognised. The wet tropics spotted pardalote (subspecies militaris ) is found in northeastern Queensland, while the distinctive subspecies, the yellow-rumped pardalote (subspecies xanthopyge ), is mostly found in drier inland regions of southern Australia, particularly in semi-arid Mallee woodlands. Also occasionally found nesting in burrows in semi-rainforest areas inland from the coast in Mid North Coast NSW
Weighing around 6 grams (0.21 oz), the spotted pardalote is 8 to 10 centimetres (3.1 to 3.9 in) long. The adult male of the nominate subspecies has grey-brown upperparts with numerous paler buff spots, a black crown, wings and tail all with white spots, white eyebrows and reddish rump. The underparts are pale-buff-cinnamon, darkening to a more ochre at the breast, with a demarcated yellow throat and vent. The female is duller overall. The yellow-rumped subspecies is larger overall with a relatively smaller bill. The adult male has finer, white, spots on its back, a bright yellow rump, and a cream breast. The adult female has finer spots than the adult female of the nominate subspecies. The Wet Tropics subspecies is smaller with a relatively larger bill. The adult male has a reddish rump and pale- to cinnamon buff underparts.
George Caley reported that it was not common around Sydney even in early settlement days. Spotted pardalote numbers appear to be declining, especially in urban areas, but the species is not considered endangered at this time.
Spotted pardalotes breed between August or September to December or January—generally earlier in the year in northern parts of their range and later in southern areas. The nest is an underground horizontal oval chamber lined with shredded bark, linked by a tunnel 0.5 to 1.5 metres (1 ft 8 in to 4 ft 11 in) long to a hole in the side of a riverbank or slope in a shaded location. The chamber is generally higher than the entrance tunnel, presumably to avoid flooding. Birds have used carpet rolls and garage roll-a-doors to nest in on occasion. Pairs breed once a year, producing a clutch of 3 to 4 round shiny white eggs 16 millimetres (0.63 in) long by 13 millimetres (0.51 in) wide. The eggs are incubated for 19 days until they hatch, with nestlings spending another 21 days in the nest.
Pairs make soft, whistling wheet-wheet calls to one another throughout the day, which carry for quite a distance. One of the difficulties in locating a pardalote is that the contact call is in fact two calls: an initial call and an almost instant response, and thus can come from two different directions.
