Daphoenositta chrysoptera
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10%
The varied sittella (Daphoenositta chrysoptera) is a small songbird native to Australia. About 10–11 cm long, it is also known as the Australian nuthatch, orange-winged sittella and the barkpecker. The varied sittella was first described by the English ornithologist John Latham in 1801 under the binomial name Sitta chrysoptera. The generic name Daphoenositta is derived from Greek daphoinos/δαφοινός, 'blood-red, tawny' and sittē, a bird like a woodpecker mentioned by Aristotle. The specific name chrysoptera is from Greek khrusopteros/χρυσό-πτερος, 'golden-winged'.
The species inhabits a broad range, and its appearance changes depending on its location, hence the name varied sittella. There are five subspecies: Its crown and head can... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Springbrook National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Booderee National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Great Otway National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 4 | Kosciuszko National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 5 | Grampians National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 6 | Lamington National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 7 | Blue Mountains National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 8 | Royal National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 9 | Wilsons Promontory National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 10 | Hattah-Kulkyne National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Varied Sittella sighting in Royal National Park on a given day, based on 42 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 120th most-seen of the 178 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Varied Sittella in Royal National Park on a given day, against under 5% in November to September, the lowest months.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Varied Sittella sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
8th of 10
Of the 10 parks where we can rate Varied Sittella sightings, Royal National Park ranks 8th at under 5%. The best odds are in Springbrook National Park (Australia, about 10%), Booderee National Park (Australia, about 10%) and Great Otway National Park (Australia, about 10%).
Same order: Passeriformes
The closest relatives of the Varied Sittella that you can see in Royal National Park (order Passeriformes, Perching Birds) are Australian Raven (about 70%), Lewin's Honeyeater (about 60%) and Pied Currawong (about 60%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Varied Sittella is recorded against all the birds logged in Royal National Park (42 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
