1/ Google opting for the Forty-spotted Pardalote as its Google Doodle for Australia Day is an apt choice, as the story of this tiny Tasmanian bird exemplifies the good and the bad of the colonialisation of this country. (Photo by Chris Tzaros)

2/Never very common, this subtly beautiful bird thrived in the tall White Gum coastal forests along the east coast of Tasmania where they fed on the abundant lerp and manna that exuded from these trees (known as Manna Gum on the mainland) thereby keeping the forests healthy.

3/ When the British colonists arrived in Hobart in 1803, the world changed for the pardalotes. White Gums tend to grow on the flatter, more fertile land and were soon heavily cleared for agriculture and housing.

4/ Compounding the habitat destruction was the forced removal/slaughter/genocide of the indigenous Palawa people whose stewardship of the land had created conditions favourable to Forty-spots. Who knows what damage was done once traditional land management practice ceased?

5/ By the 1980s Forty-spots hung on in about 10 sites with a population estimate of around 3,500 birds- low but but thought to be stable. A new assessment by Matt Webb and Sally Bryant in the 2000s found numbers had suddenly crashed by about 60%. It was slipping away unnoticed.

6/ We reported on this in Wingspan (precursor to Australian Birdlife) in 2010. A number of groups coalesced around this time to do something to reverse the declines. Nest boxes were installed at known breeding colonies.

7/ As most remaining pardalote colonies were on private land, groups such as @Tas_Land and @BirdlifeOz worked to covenant key sites to protect them in perpetuity. Revegetation of White Gum on private land took place (a great example can be found on the @Inala_Nature property.)

8/ Researchers such as @Fe_biologia did some terrific work looking at the life cycle and threats to the pardalotes, including the discovery that chicks were dying in the nest from infestations of parasitic flies, something that can be remedied with a bit of lateral thinking.

9/ The outstanding and dedicated efforts of all these people and organisations (along with many others) has shown how we can rectify the worst effects of what we have done to the country since the 26th of January, 1788.