Painted Berrypecker - Behaviour

Behaviour

The painted berrypeckers are common, active, and diurnal birds. They usually occur in pairs or in small groups, up to 30 Tit Berrypeckers or 10 Crested Berrypeckers. The Crested Berrypecker flocks are occasionally joined by mixed-species feeding flocks of insectivorous birds such as fantails, honeyeaters and the Blue-capped Ifrit, and Tit Berrypeckers often join other bird species such as honeyeaters and birds of paradise in feeding trees.

As far as is known, the painted berrypeckers are almost entirely frugivorous. Small fruits and berries comprise the biggest part of the diet, although the Tit Berrypecker has also been recorded eating small flowers. The Crested Berrypecker has also been observed to occasionally eat insects, and insects as well as fruit comprise the diet of nestlings.

The breeding behaviour of both painted berrypeckers is poorly known. Both species are monogamous, and are thought to be seasonal, with the Tit Berrypecker apparently nesting in the tail end of the dry season and early wet season. The Crested Berrypecker breeds from August to February. The nests of both species are open cups built from moss. Beyond that nothing is known of the Tit Berrypecker. In the Crested Berrypecker the female alone incubates the eggs, with the incubation period lasting for over 12 days. Upon hatching both parents feed the chick and remove the faecal sacs.