Swinhoe's White-eye
Zosterops simplex
A small yellow-olive warbler-like bird with a prominent white eyering. Occurs in forests, shrublands, parks, gardens, farmlands, and urban areas, where it actively forages for fruit, insects, and nectar from the understory to the top of the forest canopy. Song and calls are high-pitched twitters. Can be easily confused with other species of white-eye throughout its wide range, especially Indian White-eye; note contrast of lemon-yellow throat and more olive-suffused upperparts.
Taxonomy
Swinhoe's white-eye was formally described in 1861 by the English naturalist Robert Swinhoe and given the binomial name Zosterops simplex. The genus Zosterops had been introduced by the naturalists Nicholas Vigors and Thomas Horsfield in 1827. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek words zōstēros meaning "belt" or "girdle" and ōpos meaning "eye". The specific epithet simplex is Latin meaning "simple" or "plain".<p>This species was formerly treated as a subspecies group of the Japanese white-eye (Zosterops japonicus) but based on the results of a molecular phylogenetic study published in 2018, it was promoted to species rank.<p>Five subspecies are recognised:
- Scientific name
- Zosterops simplex
- Authority
- Swinhoe, 1861
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Zosteropidae
- Genus
- Zosterops
Range and habitat
- Breeding range
- OR : e China, Taiwan and n Vietnam to Thai-Malay Pen. to Sumatra and Borneo
- Non-breeding range
- to c Indochina
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Bird Calls
Other Birds
White-breasted Nuthatch
Sitta carolinensis
The largest nuthatch in North America, with distinctive white face, black cap, and blue-gray upperparts. Also note rusty lower belly and undertail coverts. Females have a slightly paler crown than males. Fairly common and widespread, usually in mature woodlands with large trees. Creeps along tree trunks and branches, often upside-down. Sometimes joins mixed flocks with other songbirds. Visits feeders. Listen for insistent yammering calls. Some subtle variation across range, mainly in the darkness of the sides and back, width of the black crown, and vocalizations.
White-tipped Swift
Aeronautes montivagus
Fairly distinctive swift found in northwestern South America. Medium-sized with slightly notched tail. Blackish overall with a white throat and white band across the lower belly. Namesake white tips on tail can be difficult to see. Compare with Andean Swift, which has longer, more sickle-shaped wings, a deeper forked tail, and more extensive white on the breast. White-tipped is typically found in small flocks at fairly high elevations, from around 1,300 to 2,700 m (higher than Lesser Swallow-tailed Swift), and often does not associate with other swift species. Occurs over a variety of habitats including forest and drier, more open areas.
Black Berrypecker
Melanocharis nigra
A small, common bird of lowland and foothill forest. Fairly slender with a black bill. Male plumage varies geographically but all have black head, back, tail and a white side tuft. Underparts are gray or black, and wing is olive or black. Female is mainly olive with a slightly paler underparts. Similar to Obscure and Mid-Mountain Berrypeckers, but Black has a shorter tail than Mid-Mountain and lacks the orange bill of Obscure. Voice, a repeated, scratchy “witoo-chii!” ending on a high note.
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