Alternative name: White-breasted White-eye
- Zosterops abyssinicus
Identification
10-12 cm (4-4¾ in)
- Green upperparts (darker and greyer in northern races)
- Pale yellow to greyish-white underparts (depending on the race)
- Narrow white ring around the eye
- Thin black line between the bill and eye. The
Distribution
Africa and the Middle East
Eastern Africa: Sudan, South Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Somalia
Middle East: Arabian Peninsula, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Socotra and Oman
Taxonomy
Pale White-eye used to be included in this species.
Subspecies
There are 4 subspecies[1]
- Z. a. arabs:
- Southern Arabian Peninsula (southwestern Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and southwestern Oman)
- Z. a. abyssinicus:
- Z. a. socotranus:
- Z. a. omoensis:
- South-western Ethiopia
Habitat
Mid altitude dry woodland, scrub, wadis and gardens.
Behaviour
Diet
Their main diet consists of insects, fruit, ficus, acacia and olea seeds and probably also nectar.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2019. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2019. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Avibase Retrieved 19 August 2020
- van Balen, B., de Juana, E. & Kirwan, G.M. (2020). Abyssinian White-eye (Zosterops abyssinicus). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from https://www.hbw.com/node/60219 on 3 March 2020)
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2021) Abyssinian White-eye. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 29 April 2021 from https://www.birdforum.net/wiki/Abyssinian_White-eye
