VOL. 9 (5) MARCH 1982 165

Historical Notes on the Forty-spotted Pardalote

By L. E. WALL, 63 Elphinstone Road, North , 7000.

This bird seems to excite more interest from VISitors to Tasmania than any other of our endemic birds, and well it should, because it seems to have had a very chequered history. The following are all the significant references I have found in the literature: 1. John Gould (1838) first described the species in A Synopsis of the Birds of , and the Adjacent Islands Part 4, and it was first (1841) illustrated in his Birds of Australia Part 4, plate 37. In his (1865) Handbook to the Birds of Australia Part 1 he noted that 'it was very abundant in the gulleys under Mount Wellington'. 2. Campbell (1901) in Nests and Eggs of Australian Birds wrote that his eggs were collected by Hinsby at Denistoun run, near Bothwell, in 1876. He also mentioned that specimens were collected on King Island in November 1887. 3. Littler (1902) in the Emu vol. 2, 170 quoted it as fairly plentiful in the Launceston district. 4. In the report of the AOU Congress at Hobart in 1902, the Emu vol. 3, 163, it was stated that none were seen about Hobart. 5. In the report of the AOU Congress at Launceston in 1906, the Emu vol. 6, 167, Mellor commented that it was not seen on Mt. Arthur where he had apparently expected to see it. 6. North (1907) in Nests and Eggs of Birds found Breeding in Australia and Tasmania vol. 2, 233 stated that he saw it at the Cascades near Hobart in December 1906. Australian Museum specimens are from Ouse River, Mt. Wellington and Badger Head. He quoted Hinsby as writing that it is not in the west and south-west, but he had found it breeding at Scamander and George's Rivers in the north-east and at Bruny Island, and also seen it at Southport and along d'Entre­ casteaux Channel and up the Derwent River as far as Glenora. 7. Littler (1910) in his Handbook of the Birds of Tasmania and its Dependencies quoted A. L. Butler for its presence in the Hobart area, and he also noted its presence on the East Coast and in the Esperance district well south of Hobart. He added, 'I have found it in a few localities on the North East Coast'. 8. Fletcher (1915), the Emu vol. 15, 114, saw it between Springfield and Bridport in the north-east. 9. Sharland and Crane (1922), the Emu vol. 22, 132, 'may often be seen in gardens at the foot of Mt. Wellington'. 10. Hall (1924), the Emu vol. 23, 291, stated that it was mainly in Western Tasmania (but he gives no specific district or authority for AUSTRALIAN 166 WALL BIRD WATCHER

this) and it also occurs on Forestier Peninsula (in the south-east) and at Bridport. 11. Fletcher (1924), the Emu vol. 24, 116, writes, 'I often saw and heard it in the tops of the trees on the hillside above The Steppes'. 12. Sharland (1925), the Emu vol. 25, 99 - 'confined to the heavily timbered parts of the country, more especially the South'. 'Occasion­ ally seen on the slopes of Mt. Wellington, and it has been recorded from Port Esperance on the Huon and along the East Coast near Swansea'. 13 . Sharland (1956), the Emu vol. 56, 70, reported the discovery of a nesting pair at Saltwater River during the RAOU Camp-out in October 1955, but in his Tasmanian Birds (1958) he did not quote any locations and suggested that the absence of a distinctive call probably accounted for the lack of observations of the species during recent years. 14. Gellibrand (1959) in the Australian Bird Watcher vol. 1, 59 went into greater detail of the observations at the nesting site in 1955, but the date in this paper was incorrectly shown as 1958. 15. Wall (1967) in the Emu vol. 66, 356 reported the first sighting and nesting of the species in 1965 at Tinderbox, about 18 km south of Hobart. 16. Thomas (1968) in the Tasmanian Naturalist no. 13 noted it as common on . (It was only recently recorded there for the first time by D. R . Milledge - unpublished report.) 17. Green (1969) in Records of the Queen Victoria Museum no. 34 commented that le Souef had recorded it from the Furneaux Group prior to 1902. 18. Ziegeler (1971) in the Tasmanian Naturalist no. 26 reported it in the northern part of Bruny Island. 19. Green (1971) in Records of the Queen Victoria Museum no. 34 records a specimen from Flinders Island from I. Abbott and D. R . Milledge. 20. Tasmanian Bird Report 1972 records it at Cape Queen Elizabeth and at Dennes Point on Bruny Island, Granton and Coningham. 21. Tasmanian Bird Report 1973, at Saltwater River. 22. Tasmanian Bird Report 1974, at Mt. Nelson; one bird was banded. 23. Wall (1975) in the Tasmanian Naturalist no. 41 discussed its distribution on Maria Island. 24. Green (1977) in Birds of Tasmania noted it from a few localities in the south, on Maria Island and Flinders Island. 25. Tasmanian Bird Report 1977 recorded it at Orford, Nieka, Launces­ ton, and breeding at Great Bay, Bruny Island. 26. Thomas (1979) in Tasmanian Bird Atlas shows its distribution (past and present) at Launceston, Railton, five areas in the north-east, Swansea, , Maria Island, Forestier Peninsula, Saltwater River, , Mt. Rumney, Granton, Mt. Nelson, VOL. 9 (5) MARCH 1982 Historical Notes on Forty-spotted Pardalote 167

Tinderbox, North Bruny Island, Port Esperance, Recherche Bay, King Island, Flinders Island, and five areas in the southern part of the Central Plateau. (The sources of some of these records are not available to me.) There are many inconsistencies in these records so that it is not possible to assess the status of the species over the years. As an example, Gould noted its abundance in the gullies of Mt. WeJiington and this was supported by Butler in Littler (1910), by Sharland and Crane (1922) and Sharland (1925), yet it was not found about Hobart during the AOU Congress in 1902, though North saw it in 1906. Again, Hall (1924) stated it was mainly in Western Tasmania but this was not supported by Hinsby in North (1907) and Thomas (1979) . It is also strange that Hinsby gave to Campbell a set of eggs taken at BothweJI but did not include this district in the list of localities he supplied to North. Sharland's comment (1958) about the lack of a distinctive call is an interesting one. Gellibrand (1959) commented on the calls of the bird and drew attention to the difference between the Forty-spotted Pardalote and the Spotted Pardalote in that regard. In February 1966 at Blackman's Bay about 6 km north of Tinderbox I was attracted to a pair of Forty­ spots by their two-note call which is of less volume than that of the Spotted Pardalote and somewhat harsher. Having once heard and recognised it I have had no further difficulty, but the bird is not always vocal and that seems to me to be the main problem.

Forty-spotted Pardalote Plate 39 Photo: L. E. Wall AUSTRALIAN 168 WALL BIRD WATCHER

I think that the species' distribution in southern Tasmania has not generally been appreciated. I was not aware of the old records from the most southern parts until a dead bird was picked up less than two years ago on Partridge Island, at the southern end of d'Entrecasteaux Channel, and presented to the Tasmanian Museum. I visited the island in March 1981 and confirmed its presence there. Regarding its presence in the Derwent Valley I think it was Hall who said that it used to be found on Mt. Rumney just east of Hobart and on Mt. Direction just north of the city. Twenty years or more ago I was told by H. Dean, another observer in the early 1900s, that he had seen it on Mt. Dromedary, about 20 km up-river from Hobart on the northern bank, but I have been unable to find it there. However, a report of its presence at Granton just across the river from Mt. Dromedary came from D. R . Milledge and N. Brothers about ten years ago. The specimen taken at the Ouse River and held by the Australian Museum is also of interest. The Ouse River rises just west of Great Lake on the Central Plateau and discharges into the Derwent River near the town of Ouse; this is well above Glenora, the uppermost point referred to by Hinsby in North (1909). If this specimen was taken in the upper reaches of the Ouse it may be one of those indicated by Thomas (1979) in the southern part of the Central Plateau, which possibly include also the Bothwell record by Hinsby in Campbell (1901) and The Steppes record by Fletcher (1924). The only published record of the Forty-spotted Pardalote on Flinders Island is by Green (1971) but I have a letter from D. Macdonald of Devonport dated 3 October 1956 in which he stated he had seen it on Flinders Island a few weeks before that date. There is now evidence indicating that outside the breeding season the Forty-spotted Pardalote is nomadic, but I believe it to be the case only in areas of dry sclerophyll forest. The last quarter of a century has seen a considerable increase in reported sightings but this appears to be primarily the result of greafer interest in the species and a much larger number of observers rather than an increase in the bird's population and distribution. ABW