Fiji White-eye
Zosterops explorator
A small, mostly citrine-yellow bird with a pale buffy-gray belly, a bold white eye-ring, and a black line from eye to bill. Bill dark. Most common in heavily forested areas. Silvereye is similar but has gray back and peachy cinnamon underside and prefers open habitats. Common calls include a very high-pitched “seee” and “seeu-seeu.”
Identification
The Fiji white-eye (Zosterops explorator) is a species of passerine bird in the white-eye family Zosteropidae. The species is also known as Layard's white-eye. It is endemic to the islands of Viti Levu, Vanua Levu, Taveuni, Kadavu, and Ovalau in Fiji, where it is a common bird of forests. Where it co-occurs with the closely related silvereye it is more common in denser forest. It is a typical small white-eye of the genus Zosterops, similar in appearance to the silvereye, although the plumage is much yellower, it is chunkier and has a complete eye-ring. The back is olive green and the throat and belly yellow. The call is described as "a high pitched seeu-seeu". The Fiji white-eye feeds by gleaning insects from shrubs and trees. It will join mixed-species feeding flocks with other Fijian birds, including silvereyes. It also feeds lower down in the trees than silvereyes.
Taxonomy
Genus: Zosterops; Family: Zosteropidae; Order: Passeriformes.
- Scientific name
- Zosterops explorator
- Authority
- Layard, EL, 1875
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Zosteropidae
- Genus
- Zosterops
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
- Population trend
- unknown
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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