Christmas Island White-eye
Zosterops natalis
One of only a handful of resident tree-dwelling songbirds on Christmas Island, and the only white-eye. Tiny warbler-like bird with an olive-yellow crown and back, soft gray underparts, and a slightly broken white eye-ring. Found throughout the island in wooded habitats, particularly forest edges. Social and active, foraging energetically in small to medium-sized flocks. Gives a variety of calls, including loud chatters, sparrow-like chirrups, and high-pitched “djirr” notes.
Identification
The Christmas white-eye has a length of between 11.7 and 13.5 cm (4.6 and 5.3 in). The upper parts are greyish-olive and the underparts whitish. There is a yellowish streak above the eye and a distinctive white feather ring surrounding the eye.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Zosterops natalis
- Authority
- Lister, 1889
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Zosteropidae
- Genus
- Zosterops
Range and habitat
The genus Zosterops is an island specialist, with 82 of the 98 species being restricted to islands, and many species being known from only a single island. It is a highly successful group, having an unspecialised diet and a great dispersal capacity. The Christmas white-eye is endemic to Christmas Island, but it has also been successfully introduced to the Cocos (Keeling) Islands where it has become established, but mostly around human settlements. On Christmas Island it occurs in forests all over the island at altitudes up to about 360 m (1,200 ft), as well as in gardens, the vicinity of abandoned mines and weedy agricultural land.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The Christmas white-eye has a varied diet including fruits, seeds, nectar and insects.
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
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