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[[Image:Silvereye.jpg|thumb|400px|right|Photo by {{user|Neil|Neil}} <br />Sydney, [[Australia]], August 2004]] | [[Image:Silvereye.jpg|thumb|400px|right|Photo by {{user|Neil|Neil}} <br />Sydney, [[Australia]], August 2004]] | ||
| − | [[Image:Tom's silvereye.JPG|thumb|300px|right|Photo by {{user|flossiepip|flossiepip}}<br />ssp lateralis<br />[[New Zealand]], 2016]] | + | [[Image:Tom's silvereye.JPG|thumb|300px|right|Photo by {{user|flossiepip|flossiepip}}<br />ssp lateralis<br />Dargaville, Northland, [[New Zealand]], August 2016]] |
;[[:Category:Zosterops|Zosterops]] lateralis | ;[[:Category:Zosterops|Zosterops]] lateralis | ||
'''Includes: Lord Howe White-eye''' | '''Includes: Lord Howe White-eye''' | ||
Revision as of 11:27, 20 August 2016
- Zosterops lateralis
Includes: Lord Howe White-eye
Identification
12cm, 13gm. Also known as wax-eye, or white-eye, it has a conspicuous white ring around the eye, thus giving the bird its name. The head and upperparts are olive green with a grey band across the back, which extends around the chest. The underparts are a peachy brown with white under the tail.
Distribution
ssp tephropleurus - Lord Howe White-eye
Lord Howe Island, NSW, Australia, December 2007
An abundant native to Australia and New Zealand. Recent colonist to New Zealand - 1856, at the settlement stage. The Maori name is Tauhou meaning "Stranger". Was not known in NZ until the middle of the 19th century, but it is thought that a storm caught a migrating flock and diverted them to New Zealand. As they arrived naturally and colonised NZ on their own, they are protected like other native species.
Also found in New Caledonia, the Loyalty Islands, Vanuatu and Fiji.
Taxonomy
Subspecies
There are 16 subspecies[1]:
- Z. l. vegetus: North East Queensland (McIlwraith Range to Burdekin River)
- Z. l. cornwalli: East Australia (east-central Queensland to Hunter River, [[New South Wales)
- Z. l. chlorocephalus: East Queensland (islands of Capricorn coast)
- Z. l. westernensis: South East Australia (southeast New South Wales to Victoria)
- Z. l. lateralis: Tasmania and Flinders Island (Bass Strait)
- Z. l. ochrochrous: King Island (Bass Strait)
- Z. l. pinarochrous: South Australia (Eyre Peninula) to north-western Victoria and adjacent NSW
- Z. l. chloronotus: South West Western Australia (Shark Bay to far south-western South Australia)
- Z. l. griseonota: New Caledonia
- Z. l. nigrescens: Loyalty Islands (Ouvéa and Maré)
- Z. l. melanops: Lifou (Loyalty Islands)
- Z. l. macmillani: Vanuatu (Tanna and Aniwa islands)
- Z. l. tropicus: Espíritu Santo Island (Vanuatu)
- Z. l. vatensis: North Vanuatu, Banks Group and Torres Island
- Z. l. valuensis: Vanua Lava Island (Vanuatu)
- Z. l. flaviceps: Fiji Archipelago
An additional subspecies tephropleurus from Lord Howe Island is sometimes treated as full species, Lord Howe White-eye.
Habitat
Tree cover, up to 1000m
Behaviour
Diet
Silvereyes feed on a variety of foods, invertebrates, fruit, and nectar and will feed in flocks over winter in gardens and parks they have a fine tapered bill and a brush tipped tongue for drinking nectar. They prefer the fruit of native trees but do feed on other fruiting species.
Breeding
As the breeding season approaches the pair break away to form individual territories. They are prolific breeders, raising 2-3 broods per season, with between 2-5 eggs per brood.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2016. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2016, with updates to August 2016. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Silvereye. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 19 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Silvereye
