Rota bridled white-eye

Zosterops rotensis

Photo by Lainie Berry (Rota Avian Behavioral Ecology Program)

Common name
Rota bridled white-eye (en); olho-branco-de-Rota (pt); zostérops de Rota (fr); anteojitos de la Rota (es); rotabrillenvogel (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Zosteropidae

Range:
This species is endemic to the island of Rota in the Northern Mariana Islands, where it is mostly restricted to the Sabana plateau.

Size:
These birds are 10 cm long and weigh 9-10 g.

Habitat:
The Rota bridled white-eye is found in native wet limestone forests, preferring Hernandia labyrinthica mixed forest and Merrilliodendron megacarpum forests. They are present at altitudes of 100-490 m.

Diet:
They feed on insects, fruits, seeds and nectar. Their prey include moths and caterpillars, snails, spiders, beetles, mayflies and katydids.

Breeding:
These birds breed in December-August. The nest is a small cup made of rootlets, grasses, plant fibres, spider webs and moss. The nest is suspended between the branches and leaf petioles of trees such as Hernandia, Merrilliodendron, and Elaeocarpus. The female lays 1-3 eggs, which are incubated by both parents for 10-12 days. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge 10-12 days after hatching.

Conservation:
IUCN status - CR (Critically Endangered)
The Rota bridled white-eye has an extremely small breeding range and a global population estimated at just 730 individuals. In the 1980s and 1990s the population was estimated to have declined at a dramatic rate of 50-75% per decade, but there is some anecdotal evidence that it may have increased in recent years. The main threats include habitat loss and degradation
owing to agricultural activities, development, typhoons and use of pesticides, as well as the introduction of predators such as the brown tree snake Boiga irregularis, the Asian house rat Rattus tanezumi, the Polynesian rats Rattus exulans and the black drongo Dicrurus macrocercus.

Mauritius olive white-eye

Zosterops chloronothos

Photo by Mike Pope (World Birds)

Common name:
Mauritius olive white-eye (en); olho-branco-da-ilha-Maurícia (pt); zostérops de Maurice (fr); anteojitos de Mauricio (es); Mauritius-brillenvogel (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Zosteropidae

Range:
This species is endemic to the island of Mauritius, presently being confined to the a small area on the south-west of the Black River Gorges National Park.

Size:
These birds are 8-10 cm long and weigh around 8 g.

Habitat:
They are mostly restricted to native upland rainforests, but can also be found in forest clearings and nearby plantations. They are present at altitudes of 200-600 m.

Diet:
The Mauritius olive white-eye feeds mainly on the nectar of Syzygium jambos, Litsea monopetala, Rubus alceifolius and Ligustrum robustum, but also takes fruits, insects and other invertebrates.

Breeding:
These birds breed in August-March. They nest in a small cup made of grasses and palm fibres and moss, woven onto the branches of a tree. There the female lays 2-3 eggs which are incubated for 12-13 days. There is no information regarding the fledging period, but it lasts 11-16 days in the closely related Seychelles white-eye Zosterops modestus.


Conservation:
IUCN status - CR (Critically Endangered)
This species has a very small breeding range and the global population is estimated at just 190-296 individuals. The population has been declining at a rapid rate in recent decades, mainly due to habitat destruction and degradation caused by the introduction of exotic plants, and predation by introduced mammals and birds, such as rats and red-whiskered bulbuls Pycnonotus jocosus and also native Mauritius black bulbuls Hypsipetes olivaceus. Intensive management action including predator control at nest sites, rescue of wild nests, artificial incubation and hand-rearing of offspring, and a trial release of birds to the predator-free, restored offshore islet Ile aux Aigrettes have had some success in halting further population declines in this species.

Oriental white-eye

Zosterops palpebrosus

Photo by Rajiv Lather (Birding in India and South Asia)

Common name:
oriental white-eye (en); olho-branco-oriental (pt); zostérops oriental (fr); anteojitos oriental (es); Ganges-brillenvogel (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Zosteropidae

Range:
This species is found in southern Asia, from Pakistan and India to southern China and south to southern Indonesia.

Size:
These birds are 8-11 cm long and weigh 8-10 g.

Habitat:
Oriental white-eyes  are  found moist tropical forests, mangroves and moist scrublands.

Diet:
They mainly feed on small insects, especially ants, but also the nectar, fruits, seeds, buds and pollen of plants such as giant mahang Macaranga gigantea, umbrella tree Schefflera actinophylla and pink mempat Cratoxylum formosum.

Breeding:
The oriental white-eye breeds in February-September. The nest is a compact cup made of grass, plant fibres, roots and cotton down and spider webs, usually placed in a fork in a scrub or trees 1–10 m above the ground. There the female lays 2-3 pale blue eggs, which are incubated for 10-11 days. The chicks are fed and brooded by both parents and fledge about 10 days after hatching.

Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has a very large breeding range and is described as common. The population is suspected to be in decline owing to ongoing habitat destruction and fragmentation of forest and mangrove habitats, as well as illegal trapping for the cage bird trade.

Japanese white-eye

Zosterops japonicus

(Photo from Wikipedia)

Common name:
Japanese white-eye (en); olho-branco-do-Japão (pt); zostérops du Japon (fr); anteojitos japonés (es); Japanbrillenvogel (de)


Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Zosteropidae


Range:
This species is found breeding in Japan, South Korea, China, Taiwan, Vietnam and Laos. Some populations migrate south to winter in Myanmar and Thailand. The Japanese white-eye has been introduced to Hawaii.


Size:
These birds are 10-12 cm long and weigh 10-13 g.


Habitat:
Japanese white-eyes are found in temperate forests, moist tropical and sub-tropical forests, rural gardens and in urban areas.


Diet:
They mostly glean small invertebrates from foliage, namely beetles, fly larvae and spiders, but will also take seeds, nectar and fruits.


Breeding:
The Japanese white-eye can breed almost all year round, varying between different parts of its range. The nest is a neatly woven cup, made of grass, plant material, string, tin foil, leaves, mosses, and attached to a fork in a branch with spiders webs. There the female lays 2-5 pale blue eggs, which are incubated by both parents for 11 days. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge 10-12 days after hatching, but remain with their parents for another 2-3 weeks.


Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has a very large breeding range and is described as common. The population trend is difficult to determine because of uncertainty over the impacts of habitat modification on population sizes.

Cape white-eye

Zosterops pallidus

(Photo from Flickrhivermind)

Common name:
Cape white-eye (en); olho-branco-do-Cabo (pt); zostérops clair (fr); anteojitos de El Cabo (es); Kapbrillenvogel (de)


Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Zosteropidae


Range:
This species is found throughout most of South Africa, with the exception of the kalahari desert, and it expands into southern Mozambique, south-eastern Mozambique and Namibia.


Size:
These birds are 12 cm long and weigh 10-12 g.


Habitat:
Cape white-eyes are found in a wide variety of habitats including dry savannas, evergreen forests, dune scrubland, inland wetlands, rural gardens, plantations and urban gardens.


Diet:
They are mostly insectivorous, often eating aphids, but also termite alates, butterflies, beetles, spiders and mantids. They also eat the fruits and nectar of various plants including wild figs and other native species, as well as introduced agricultural crops like oranges, pears, blackberries, plums and grapes.


Breeding:
The Cape white-eye breeds in August-April. The nest is built by both sexes, consisting of a small cup made of lichens, dry grass, rootlets, tendrils and other dry plant fibres, bound together with spider webs. The nest is concealed in the foliage of a tree or bush. The female lays 2-4 pale blue eggs, which are incubated by both sexes for 10-12 days. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge 12-13 days after hatching.


Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least concern)
This species has a very large breeding range and is described as very common to uncommon. The population trend is difficult to determine because of uncertainty over the impacts of habitat modification on population sizes.