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Indian white-eye

May 08, 2024

The Indian white-eye (Zosterops palpebrosus), formerly the Oriental white-eye, is a small passerine bird in the white-eye family. It is a resident breeder in open woodland on the Indian subcontinent. They forage in small groups, feeding on nectar and small insects. They are easily identified by the distinctive white eye-ring and overall yellowish upperparts. The range previously extended eastwards to Southeast Asia, Indonesia and Malaysia. Their name was recently changed due to previous members of Zosterops palpebrosus in Southeast Asia being renamed to a new species, making the Indian White-eye a more geographically accurate term for this species.

Indian white-eye
Z. p. egregius, Sri Lanka
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Zosteropidae
Genus: Zosterops
Species:
Z. palpebrosus
Binomial name
Zosterops palpebrosus
(Temminck, 1824)
Synonyms

Sylvia palpebrosa
Zosterops palpebrosa

Indian white-eye in Kolkata outskirts

Taxonomy edit

The Indian white-eye was described by the Dutch zoologist Coenraad Jacob Temminck in 1824 from a specimen collected in Bengal. He coined the binomial name Sylvia palpebrosa.[2] The English and scientific names refer to the conspicuous ring of white feathers round the eyes, palpebrosus being Neo-Latin for "having prominent eyelids", from the Latin palpebrae "eyelids".[3]

The English name of this species was changed from "Oriental white-eye" to "Indian white-eye" to more accurately reflect the geographic range following the reorganisation of the taxa with the introduction of Hume's white-eye (Zosterops auriventer), the warbling white-eye (Zosterops japonicus) and Swinhoe's white-eye (Zosterops simplex).[4]

Description edit

This bird is small (about 8–9 cm long) with yellowish olive upper parts, a white eye ring, yellow throat and, a vent. The belly is whitish grey but may have yellow in some subspecies. The sexes look similar. The species is widespread and is part of a superspecies complex that includes Zosterops japonicus, Zosterops meyeni and possibly others. The taxonomy of the group is still unclear with some island populations being distinctive while some subspecies are not well supported. The population from Flores, Indonesia for instance is found closer to the pale white-eye. The family itself is now questioned since they are nested along with the Stachyris babblers.[5]

About eleven subspecies are well recognised, these include the nominate form (type locality Bengal, India) which is found from Oman and Arabia, Afghanistan, northern India and extends into China and northern Myanmar. The population in the Western Ghats and hills of southern India is placed in nilgiriensis while salimalii of the Eastern Ghats hills (Shevaroy, Chitteri, Seshachalam, Nallamalai) is sometimes subsumed into the nominate race. The population of the plains of India, Laccadives and Sri Lanka are sometimes placed in egregius (= egregia) but is restricted by other works to the population in Sri Lanka.[6][7] The populations in southern Myanmar, Thailand and Laos are placed in siamensis. The Nicobar Islands form is nicobaricus and is sometimes also used for the population on the Andaman Islands which are, however, a distinctive and unnamed population.[6] The populations from southern Thailand to western Cambodia are placed in williamsoni.[8] Other Southeast Asian island forms include auriventer (=aureiventer), buxtoni, melanurus and unicus.

Race occidentis (now often subsumed into the nominate race) of the Western Himalayas has the upper side dark green and the flanks are tinged in brown. The form salimalii has a shorter bill and is brighter yellow-green above.[6][9] Some authors consider the nominate race to be restricted to Sikkim, Bhutan, Assam and Yunnan and consider the peninsular race as occidentis[10] (or amabilis if the form from Kathiawar described by Koelz is considered valid).[6][11]

In Sri Lanka, race egregia is smaller and has a brighter back and throat than the endemic Sri Lanka white-eye, Zosterops ceylonensis found in the central hills.

Distribution and habitat edit

The species is found in a wide range of habitats from scrub to moist forest. They sometimes occur in mangrove areas, such as in the Karachi region, Pakistan,[12] and on islands they may lead a more insectivorous life.[13] They are somewhat rare only in the drier desert regions of western India.[14]

A feral population was detected in San Diego, California, in the 1980s and subsequently eradicated.[15]

Behaviour and ecology edit

Dawn song in Southern India

These white-eyes are sociable, forming flocks which only separate on the approach of the breeding season. They are highly arboreal and only rarely descend to the ground. The breeding season is February to September but April is the peak breeding season[16] and the compact cup nest is a placed like a hammock on the fork of a branch. The nest is made of cobwebs, lichens and plant fibre. The nest is built in about 4 days and the two pale blue eggs[16] are laid within a couple of days of each other. The eggs hatch in about 10 days. Both sexes take care of brooding the chicks which fledge in about 10 days.[17]

 
Indian white-eye nest in Bangalore, India

Though mainly insectivorous, the Indian white-eye will also eat nectar and fruits of various kinds.[18]

They call frequently as they forage and the usual contact call is a soft nasal cheer.[6] They pollinate flowers when they visit them for flower insects (such as thrips) and possibly nectar (questioned)[19] that form their diet.[20] The forehead is sometimes coloured by pollen leading to mistaken identifications.[21] They have been observed bathing in dew accumulated on leaves.[22]

When nesting, they may mob palm squirrels but being small birds they are usually on the defensive. Their predators include bats (esp. Megaderma lyra)[23] and birds such as the white-throated kingfisher.[24] Endoparasitic Haemosporidia of the genus Haemoproteus and Dorisa have been isolated from the species although these rarely cause death.[25][26]

Like some other white-eyes,[27] they sometimes steal nest material from the nests of other birds.[28] Cases of interspecific feeding have been noted with white-eyes feeding the chicks of a paradise flycatcher.[29][30]

Although not strong fliers, they are capable of dispersing in winds and storms to new areas including offshore islands.[13] A feral population of this species established itself in California during the 1980s requiring their capture and destruction. They were captured by luring them using call playback and live decoys into mistnets.[20]

Gallery edit

  •  
    Z. p. williamsoni, Singapore
  •  
    This bird in Maharashtra has an orange forehead due to pollen staining
  •  
    In Ooty (alt. 2,300m), The Nilgiris District, India
  •  
    Bathing alongside red-vented bulbul in Sri Lanka
  •  
    Indian white-eye and red-vented bulbul bathing near Galle, Sri Lanka

References edit

  1. ^ BirdLife International (2019). "Zosterops palpebrosus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T155155950A155176891. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T155155950A155176891.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. ^ Temminck, Coenraad Jacob (1838) [1824]. Nouveau recueil de planches coloriées d'oiseaux, pour servir de suite et de complément aux planches enluminées de Buffon (in French). Vol. 3. Paris: F.G. Levrault. Plate 293, Fig. 3. The 5 volumes were originally issued in 102 parts, 1820-1839
  3. ^ Jobling, J.A. (2018). del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Sargatal, J.; Christie, D.A.; de Juana, E. (eds.). "Key to Scientific Names in Ornithology". Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  4. ^ Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2018). "Sylviid babblers, parrotbills, white-eyes". World Bird List Version 9.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  5. ^ Moyle, R. G.; C. E. Filardi; C. E. Smith & Jared Diamond (2009). "Explosive Pleistocene diversification and hemispheric expansion of a "great speciator"". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 106 (6): 1863–1868. Bibcode:2009PNAS..106.1863M. doi:10.1073/pnas.0809861105. PMC 2644129. PMID 19181851.
  6. ^ a b c d e Rasmussen, P. C. & J. C. Anderton (2005). Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide. Volume 2. Smithsonian Institution & Lynx Edicions. p. 551.
  7. ^ Ali, S. & S. D. Ripley (1999). Handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan. Vol. 10 (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. pp. 59–64. ISBN 0-19-562063-1.
  8. ^ Robinson, H. C. & C. Boden Kloss (1914). "On a new form of white-eye from Siam". Journal of the Natural History Society of Siam. 3 (4): 445.
  9. ^ Whistler, H. (1933). "Description of a new race of the White Eye Zosterops palpebrosa". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 36 (4): 811.
  10. ^ Whistler, Hugh (1949). Popular handbook of Indian birds (4th ed.). Gurney and Jackson. pp. 264–265.
  11. ^ Koelz, Walter (1950). "New subspecies of birds from southwestern Asia". American Museum Novitates (1452). hdl:2246/4237.
  12. ^ Khacher, Lavkumar J. (1970). "Notes on the White-eye (Zosterops palpebrosa) and Whitebreasted Kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis)". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 67 (2): 333.
  13. ^ a b Betts, F. N. (1956). "Colonization of islands by White-eyes (Zosterops spp.)". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 53 (3): 472–473.
  14. ^ Himmatsinhji, M. K. (1966). "Another bird record from Kutch". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 63 (1): 202–203.
  15. ^ Minnesang, D. J. (1981). Detection and retrieval of Indian White-eyes Zosterops palpebrosa palpebrosa (Temminck) in San Diego. California Department of Food and Agriculture Detection Project Progress Report. pp. 1–23.
  16. ^ a b Oates, Eugene W. (1889). Fauna of British India. Birds. Volume 1. Taylor and Francis. pp. 214–215.
  17. ^ Doyle, E. E. (1933). "Nesting of the White-eye (Zosterops palpebrosa Temm.)". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 36 (2): 504–505.
  18. ^ Page, Wesley T. (1912). "Breeding of the Indian White-Eye". Avicultural Magazine. 3 (4): 114–117.
  19. ^ Moreau, R. E.; Mary Perrins & J. T. Hughes. (PDF). Ardea. 57: 29–47. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 July 2011.
  20. ^ a b Van Way, Valerie (1984). "The White-eyes eradication effort in California". Proceedings of the Eleventh Vertebrate Pest Conference (1984). University of Nebraska, Proceedings of the Eleventh Vertebrate Pest Conference.
  21. ^ Harington, H. H. (1910). "The Indian White-eye (Zosterops palpebrosa)". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 20 (2): 520–521.
  22. ^ Sundar, K. S. G. & J. Chanda (2002). "Foliage-dew bathing in oriental white-eye Zosterops palpebrosus, Family Zosteropidae". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 99 (2): 318–319.
  23. ^ Green, E. Ernest (1907). "Do bats capture and eat birds?". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 17 (3): 835–836.
  24. ^ Sen, S. N. (1944). "Food of the White-breasted Kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis fusca)". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 44: 475.
  25. ^ Chakravarty, Mukundamurari & Amiya Bhusan Kar (1945). "Studies on Hæmosporidia from Indian birds—Series II". Proceedings of the Indian Academy of Sciences, Section B. 22 (2): 63–69.
  26. ^ Ray, H. N. & A. C. Sarkar (1967). "On some new coccidia from the Indian passerine birds, Zosterops palpebrosa (Temm.), Lonchura malabarica (Linn.), L. punctulata (Linn.) and Passer domesticus (Linn.)". Proceedings of the 54th Indian Science Congress. 54: 448–449.
  27. ^ Guest, Sandra J. (1973). (PDF) (Technical Report 29). US International Biological Program. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 September 2009.
  28. ^ Mahesh, S. S.; L. Shyamal & Vinod Thomas (2010). "Nest material kleptoparasitism by the Oriental White-eye Zosterops palpebrosus". Indian Birds. 6 (1): 22–23.
  29. ^ Tehsin, Raza H. & Himalay Tehsin (1998). "White-eye (Zosterops palpebrosa) feeding the chicks of paradise flycatcher (Terpsiphone paradisi)". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 95 (2): 348.
  30. ^ Balar, R. (2008). "Interspecific feeding of Asian Paradise-Flycatcher Terpsiphone paradisi nestlings by Oriental White-eye Zosterops palpebrosus". Indian Birds. 4: 163–164.

External links edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Zosterops palpebrosus.
  • Oriental White-eye videos, photos & sounds on the Internet Bird Collection.

May 08, 2024
indian, white, zosterops, palpebrosus, formerly, oriental, white, small, passerine, bird, white, family, resident, breeder, open, woodland, indian, subcontinent, they, forage, small, groups, feeding, nectar, small, insects, they, easily, identified, distinctiv. The Indian white eye Zosterops palpebrosus formerly the Oriental white eye is a small passerine bird in the white eye family It is a resident breeder in open woodland on the Indian subcontinent They forage in small groups feeding on nectar and small insects They are easily identified by the distinctive white eye ring and overall yellowish upperparts The range previously extended eastwards to Southeast Asia Indonesia and Malaysia Their name was recently changed due to previous members of Zosterops palpebrosus in Southeast Asia being renamed to a new species making the Indian White eye a more geographically accurate term for this species Indian white eye Z p egregius Sri Lanka Conservation status Least Concern IUCN 3 1 1 Scientific classification Domain Eukaryota Kingdom Animalia Phylum Chordata Class Aves Order Passeriformes Family Zosteropidae Genus Zosterops Species Z palpebrosus Binomial name Zosterops palpebrosus Temminck 1824 Synonyms Sylvia palpebrosaZosterops palpebrosa Indian white eye in Kolkata outskirts Contents 1 Taxonomy 2 Description 3 Distribution and habitat 4 Behaviour and ecology 5 Gallery 6 References 7 External linksTaxonomy editThe Indian white eye was described by the Dutch zoologist Coenraad Jacob Temminck in 1824 from a specimen collected in Bengal He coined the binomial name Sylvia palpebrosa 2 The English and scientific names refer to the conspicuous ring of white feathers round the eyes palpebrosus being Neo Latin for having prominent eyelids from the Latin palpebrae eyelids 3 The English name of this species was changed from Oriental white eye to Indian white eye to more accurately reflect the geographic range following the reorganisation of the taxa with the introduction of Hume s white eye Zosterops auriventer the warbling white eye Zosterops japonicus and Swinhoe s white eye Zosterops simplex 4 Description editThis bird is small about 8 9 cm long with yellowish olive upper parts a white eye ring yellow throat and a vent The belly is whitish grey but may have yellow in some subspecies The sexes look similar The species is widespread and is part of a superspecies complex that includes Zosterops japonicus Zosterops meyeni and possibly others The taxonomy of the group is still unclear with some island populations being distinctive while some subspecies are not well supported The population from Flores Indonesia for instance is found closer to the pale white eye The family itself is now questioned since they are nested along with the Stachyris babblers 5 About eleven subspecies are well recognised these include the nominate form type locality Bengal India which is found from Oman and Arabia Afghanistan northern India and extends into China and northern Myanmar The population in the Western Ghats and hills of southern India is placed in nilgiriensis while salimalii of the Eastern Ghats hills Shevaroy Chitteri Seshachalam Nallamalai is sometimes subsumed into the nominate race The population of the plains of India Laccadives and Sri Lanka are sometimes placed in egregius egregia but is restricted by other works to the population in Sri Lanka 6 7 The populations in southern Myanmar Thailand and Laos are placed in siamensis The Nicobar Islands form is nicobaricus and is sometimes also used for the population on the Andaman Islands which are however a distinctive and unnamed population 6 The populations from southern Thailand to western Cambodia are placed in williamsoni 8 Other Southeast Asian island forms include auriventer aureiventer buxtoni melanurus and unicus Race occidentis now often subsumed into the nominate race of the Western Himalayas has the upper side dark green and the flanks are tinged in brown The form salimalii has a shorter bill and is brighter yellow green above 6 9 Some authors consider the nominate race to be restricted to Sikkim Bhutan Assam and Yunnan and consider the peninsular race as occidentis 10 or amabilis if the form from Kathiawar described by Koelz is considered valid 6 11 In Sri Lanka race egregia is smaller and has a brighter back and throat than the endemic Sri Lanka white eye Zosterops ceylonensis found in the central hills Distribution and habitat editThe species is found in a wide range of habitats from scrub to moist forest They sometimes occur in mangrove areas such as in the Karachi region Pakistan 12 and on islands they may lead a more insectivorous life 13 They are somewhat rare only in the drier desert regions of western India 14 A feral population was detected in San Diego California in the 1980s and subsequently eradicated 15 Behaviour and ecology edit source source Dawn song in Southern India These white eyes are sociable forming flocks which only separate on the approach of the breeding season They are highly arboreal and only rarely descend to the ground The breeding season is February to September but April is the peak breeding season 16 and the compact cup nest is a placed like a hammock on the fork of a branch The nest is made of cobwebs lichens and plant fibre The nest is built in about 4 days and the two pale blue eggs 16 are laid within a couple of days of each other The eggs hatch in about 10 days Both sexes take care of brooding the chicks which fledge in about 10 days 17 nbsp Indian white eye nest in Bangalore India Though mainly insectivorous the Indian white eye will also eat nectar and fruits of various kinds 18 They call frequently as they forage and the usual contact call is a soft nasal cheer 6 They pollinate flowers when they visit them for flower insects such as thrips and possibly nectar questioned 19 that form their diet 20 The forehead is sometimes coloured by pollen leading to mistaken identifications 21 They have been observed bathing in dew accumulated on leaves 22 When nesting they may mob palm squirrels but being small birds they are usually on the defensive Their predators include bats esp Megaderma lyra 23 and birds such as the white throated kingfisher 24 Endoparasitic Haemosporidia of the genus Haemoproteus and Dorisa have been isolated from the species although these rarely cause death 25 26 Like some other white eyes 27 they sometimes steal nest material from the nests of other birds 28 Cases of interspecific feeding have been noted with white eyes feeding the chicks of a paradise flycatcher 29 30 Although not strong fliers they are capable of dispersing in winds and storms to new areas including offshore islands 13 A feral population of this species established itself in California during the 1980s requiring their capture and destruction They were captured by luring them using call playback and live decoys into mistnets 20 Gallery edit nbsp Z p williamsoni Singapore nbsp This bird in Maharashtra has an orange forehead due to pollen staining nbsp In Ooty alt 2 300m The Nilgiris District India nbsp Bathing alongside red vented bulbul in Sri Lanka nbsp Indian white eye and red vented bulbul bathing near Galle Sri LankaReferences edit BirdLife International 2019 Zosterops palpebrosus IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019 e T155155950A155176891 doi 10 2305 IUCN UK 2019 3 RLTS T155155950A155176891 en Retrieved 19 November 2021 Temminck Coenraad Jacob 1838 1824 Nouveau recueil de planches coloriees d oiseaux pour servir de suite et de complement aux planches enluminees de Buffon in French Vol 3 Paris F G Levrault Plate 293 Fig 3 The 5 volumes were originally issued in 102 parts 1820 1839 Jobling J A 2018 del Hoyo J Elliott A Sargatal J Christie D A de Juana E eds Key to Scientific Names in Ornithology Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive Lynx Edicions Retrieved 23 January 2019 Gill Frank Donsker David eds 2018 Sylviid babblers parrotbills white eyes World Bird List Version 9 1 International Ornithologists Union Retrieved 23 January 2019 Moyle R G C E Filardi C E Smith amp Jared Diamond 2009 Explosive Pleistocene diversification and hemispheric expansion of a great speciator Proc Natl Acad Sci 106 6 1863 1868 Bibcode 2009PNAS 106 1863M doi 10 1073 pnas 0809861105 PMC 2644129 PMID 19181851 a b c d e Rasmussen P C amp J C Anderton 2005 Birds of South Asia The Ripley Guide Volume 2 Smithsonian Institution amp Lynx Edicions p 551 Ali S amp S D Ripley 1999 Handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan Vol 10 2nd ed Oxford University Press pp 59 64 ISBN 0 19 562063 1 Robinson H C amp C Boden Kloss 1914 On a new form of white eye from Siam Journal of the Natural History Society of Siam 3 4 445 Whistler H 1933 Description of a new race of the White Eye Zosterops palpebrosa J Bombay Nat Hist Soc 36 4 811 Whistler Hugh 1949 Popular handbook of Indian birds 4th ed Gurney and Jackson pp 264 265 Koelz Walter 1950 New subspecies of birds from southwestern Asia American Museum Novitates 1452 hdl 2246 4237 Khacher Lavkumar J 1970 Notes on the White eye Zosterops palpebrosa and Whitebreasted Kingfisher Halcyon smyrnensis J Bombay Nat Hist Soc 67 2 333 a b Betts F N 1956 Colonization of islands by White eyes Zosterops spp J Bombay Nat Hist Soc 53 3 472 473 Himmatsinhji M K 1966 Another bird record from Kutch J Bombay Nat Hist Soc 63 1 202 203 Minnesang D J 1981 Detection and retrieval of Indian White eyesZosterops palpebrosa palpebrosa Temminck in San Diego California Department of Food and Agriculture Detection Project Progress Report pp 1 23 a b Oates Eugene W 1889 Fauna of British India Birds Volume 1 Taylor and Francis pp 214 215 Doyle E E 1933 Nesting of the White eye Zosterops palpebrosa Temm J Bombay Nat Hist Soc 36 2 504 505 Page Wesley T 1912 Breeding of the Indian White Eye Avicultural Magazine 3 4 114 117 Moreau R E Mary Perrins amp J T Hughes Tongues of the Zosteropidae White eyes PDF Ardea 57 29 47 Archived from the original PDF on 24 July 2011 a b Van Way Valerie 1984 The White eyes eradication effort in California Proceedings of the Eleventh Vertebrate Pest Conference 1984 University of Nebraska Proceedings of the Eleventh Vertebrate Pest Conference Harington H H 1910 The Indian White eye Zosterops palpebrosa J Bombay Nat Hist Soc 20 2 520 521 Sundar K S G amp J Chanda 2002 Foliage dew bathing in oriental white eye Zosterops palpebrosus Family Zosteropidae J Bombay Nat Hist Soc 99 2 318 319 Green E Ernest 1907 Do bats capture and eat birds J Bombay Nat Hist Soc 17 3 835 836 Sen S N 1944 Food of the White breasted Kingfisher Halcyon smyrnensis fusca J Bombay Nat Hist Soc 44 475 Chakravarty Mukundamurari amp Amiya Bhusan Kar 1945 Studies on Haemosporidia from Indian birds Series II Proceedings of the Indian Academy of Sciences Section B 22 2 63 69 Ray H N amp A C Sarkar 1967 On some new coccidia from the Indian passerine birds Zosterops palpebrosa Temm Lonchura malabarica Linn L punctulata Linn and Passer domesticus Linn Proceedings of the 54th Indian Science Congress 54 448 449 Guest Sandra J 1973 A reproductive biology and natural history of the Japanese white eye Zosterops japonica japonica in urban Oahu PDF Technical Report 29 US International Biological Program Archived from the original PDF on 18 September 2009 Mahesh S S L Shyamal amp Vinod Thomas 2010 Nest material kleptoparasitism by the Oriental White eye Zosterops palpebrosus Indian Birds 6 1 22 23 Tehsin Raza H amp Himalay Tehsin 1998 White eye Zosterops palpebrosa feeding the chicks of paradise flycatcher Terpsiphone paradisi J Bombay Nat Hist Soc 95 2 348 Balar R 2008 Interspecific feeding of Asian Paradise Flycatcher Terpsiphone paradisi nestlings by Oriental White eye Zosterops palpebrosus Indian Birds 4 163 164 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Zosterops palpebrosus Oriental White eye videos photos amp sounds on the Internet Bird Collection Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Indian white eye amp oldid 1210824980, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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