BIRDGACHA / FIELD NOTES

Sittellas

Sittellas are tiny Australasian bark-searching birds with short tails and slender bills that can appear slightly upturned. Strong feet allow them to move around branches and descend trunks, superficially recalling nuthatches. Examples include Varied Sittella (Daphoenositta chrysoptera), Papuan Sittella (Daphoenositta papuensis), and Black Sittella (Daphoenositta miranda). They take small invertebrates from bark and often travel in busy groups. Varied Sittellas show striking geographic variation in head colour, wing patches and underpart pattern. The family's Australian and New Guinea members should therefore be compared using both structure and regional plumage rather than one familiar head pattern.

How to recognize Sittellas

Bill: slender slightly upturned bills.
Outline: tiny short-tailed bodies and strong feet.
Feeding: searching bark while climbing along trunks and branches.

Where they live

Australian woodland and New Guinea forest provide the family's habitats. Varied Sittellas favour wooded settings with accessible trunks and branches, avoiding extensive treeless areas, while New Guinea members include birds of mountain forest. Feeding parties can range across several trees, investigating bark rather than remaining at flowers or fruit. Local forest type, elevation and geographic region help distinguish the species and the differently patterned populations within the Australian member.

Species accounts: Varied Sittella · Papuan Sittella · Black Sittella

Sources — natural history: Wikipedia: Sittellas natural history · Cornell Birds of the World: Varied Sittella species account · Don Roberson: Sittellas field observations and natural history.

Classification: IOC World Bird List: family names and classification.

Some Cornell Birds of the World account sections require a subscription.

Updated 2026-11-06. Species counts follow this site's catalogue. This is an editorial summary, not an expert peer review.