The Varied Sittella is a small (10 cm) songbird with a sharp, slightly upturned bill, short tail, barred undertail, and yellow eyes and feet. In flight the orange wing-bar and white rump are prominent. Inhabits eucalypt forests and woodlands, especially those containing rough-barked species and mature smooth-barked gums with dead branches, mallee and Acacia woodland. Feeds on arthropods gleaned from crevices in rough or decorticating bark, dead branches, standing dead trees and small branches and twigs in the tree canopy. Builds a cup-shaped nest of plant fibres and cobwebs in an upright tree fork high in the living tree canopy, and often re-uses the same fork or tree in successive years. The Varied Sittella is adversely affected by the dominance of Noisy Miners in woodland patches. Threats include habitat degradation through small-scale clearing for fencelines and road verges, rural tree decline, loss of paddock trees and connectivity, 'tidying up' on farms, and firewood collection. (Source: NSW Government Office of Heritage & the Environment, 2017.), (Image: David Cook).