Tagula White-eye

Zosterops meeki

A very little-known, small bird of foothill forest canopy and edge on Tagula Island where the only white-eye. Olive-green upperparts with yellow-green rump, blackish face and tail. White underparts from the throat to the belly and yellow under the base of the tail. Note the broad white eye-ring, broken at the front. Voice, gives a typical white-eye “peer” call. Apparently not seen in recent years.

Taxonomy

Scientific name
Zosterops meeki
Authority
Hartert, EJO, 1898
Order
Passeriformes
Family
Zosteropidae
Genus
Zosterops

Range and habitat

Migration
Resident species

Conservation

Population trend
declining

Photos

Distribution

Other Birds

Greater Ani

Greater Ani

Crotophaga major

Anis are bizarre black cuckoos with long floppy tails and unique, very deep and broad-sided bills. Greater is the largest ani, distinctive with its staring yellow eye and glossy blue, green, and purple sheen on the wings and tail. Always associated with water; especially apt to be found low in the forest edge around slow-moving rivers and lakes. Seen in family groups. Widespread in lowlands from Panama to Argentina.

Orange Minivet

Orange Minivet

Pericrocotus flammeus

Brightly-colored forest bird with a long tail. Male is decked out in black and orange-red, female in gray and yellow. Male lacks Small Minivet’s contrasting gray crown and back. Gives very high, somewhat bubbling twitter of “weeeep” notes. Travels in flocks, sometimes mixed in with other species. Often seen in bounding flight over the forest canopy.

Dambo Cisticola

Dambo Cisticola

Cisticola dambo

Small cisticola that is pale and buffy below, and dark on the back. The crown, back of the neck, and back are heavily streaked. Note specific habitat preferences, which can help with identification: found in seepage zones of seasonally wet grasslands, alongside but in wetter situations than Wing-snapping Cisticolas, but avoiding the seasonally flooded habitat of Pale-crowned Cisticola. Very similar to Wing-snapping and Pale-crowned Cisticolas, but longer-tailed than both, and further distinguished from Pale-crowned in breeding plumage by the streaked crown. Also similar to Zitting and Desert Cisticolas, but has a different voice, and is darker on the back. Song consists of nasal notes, given from a low perch (termite mound or grass stem) or occasional brief display flight at grass top height. In contrast to other small cisticolas, it does not have a true aerial display flight.

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