Pardalotidae

Pardalotidae is a small family of Australian passerine birds known as pardalotes, comprising four species in the single genus Pardalotus. All are endemic to Australia; the forty-spotted pardalote is restricted to Tasmania, while the striated pardalote ranges across the mainland except for the driest regions. Pardalotes are very small, brightly colored birds, 8.5 to 12 centimeters long, with short tails, strong legs and stubby blunt beaks. They specialize in feeding on lerps, the sugary casings sap-sucking insects build over themselves in eucalyptus trees, and may play a significant role in controlling lerp infestations in Australian eucalypt forests. They are monogamous breeders that dig deep horizontal tunnels into earth banks for their nests, sometimes more than a metre deep.