Christmas white-eye

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Christmas white-eye
ZosteropsNatalisSmit.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Zosteropidae
Genus: Zosterops
Species:
Z. natalis
Binomial name
Zosterops natalis
Lister, 1889

The Christmas white-eye (Zosterops natalis) is a species of bird in the family Zosteropidae. It is endemic to Christmas Island. Its natural habitats are tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests and subtropical or tropical moist shrubland. It is threatened by habitat destruction.

Contents

Description

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. [2]

Distribution 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, [3] 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. [1]

Behaviour

The Christmas white-eye has a varied diet including fruits, seeds, nectar and insects. [2]

Status

The invasive yellow crazy ant (Anoplolepis gracilipes) has had a dramatic impact on the biodiversity of Christmas Island. It has severely reduced and nearly eliminated the red land crabs and increased the presence of the stinging tree (Dendrocnide peltata) in the canopy. [4] The increased populations of scale insects, which are tended by yellow crazy ants, have provided foraging opportunities for the white-eye and the resurgence of the ant has not deleteriously impacted the bird as was previously feared. The white-eye is a common bird with a stable population, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as least concern. [1] The subpopulation on the Cocos (Keeling) Islands is estimated to be about 5% of the size of the Christmas Island population, but it provides a second location which should reduce the risk that a natural disaster will cause extinction. [5]

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Pale-bellied white-eye Species of bird

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Bridled white-eye Species of bird

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Ambon white-eye Species of bird

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The Gizo white-eye or yellow-billed white-eye is a species of bird in the family Zosteropidae.

Yellowish white-eye Species of bird

The yellowish white-eye or golden-yellow white-eye, is a species of bird in the family Zosteropidae. It is endemic to the Philippines.

Papuan white-eye Species of bird

The Papuan white-eye, sometimes known as the New Guinea white-eye, is a species of bird in the family Zosteropidae. It is found in the Aru Islands and New Guinea. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. The species was first classified in 1878, and has a conservation status of Least Concern.

Heuglins white-eye Species of bird

Heuglin's white-eye, also known as the Ethiopian white-eye, is a species of bird in the family Zosteropidae. It is found in north-eastern and eastern Africa, primarily in Ethiopia and Kenya. Its natural habitats range from subtropical or tropical moist montane forests, to subtropical or tropical high-altitude shrubland, plantations, and rural gardens.

The Rennell white-eye or the bare-ringed white-eye, is a species of bird in the family Zosteropidae. It is endemic to Rennell Island in the Solomon Islands. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.

Rota white-eye Species of bird

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The Samoan white-eye is a species of bird in the family Zosteropidae. It is endemic to the island of Savai'i in Samoa.

The Ranongga white-eye or splendid white-eye is a species of bird in the family Zosteropidae. It is endemic to the Solomon Islands.

Slender-billed white-eye Species of bird

The slender-billed white-eye is a species of bird in the family Zosteropidae. It is endemic to Norfolk Island.

The Pemba white-eye is a species of bird in the family Zosteropidae. It is endemic to Tanzania.

The Vella Lavella white-eye, belted white-eye, or banded white-eye is a species of bird in the family Zosteropidae. It is endemic to the Solomon Islands.

Príncipe white-eye Species of bird

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Kosrae white-eye Species of bird

The Kosrae white-eye is a species of bird in the family Zosteropidae. It is endemic to Kosrae Island. This species and the grey-brown white-eye were formerly considered conspecific.

References

  1. 1 2 3 BirdLife International (2022). "Zosterops natalis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2022: e.T22714078A211468154. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  2. 1 2 van Balen, B. (2019). "Christmas White-eye (Zosterops natalis)". Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  3. ↑ Woinarski, John (2018). A Bat's End: The Christmas Island Pipistrelle and Extinction in Australia. CSIRO Publishing. p. 73. ISBN   978-1-4863-0865-1.
  4. ↑ Hoskin, Conrad; Lach, Lori (2015). "Too much to lose: Yellow crazy ants in the wet tropics" (PDF). Wildlife Australia. 52 (3): 37–41.
  5. ↑ Woinarski, John; Detto, T.; MacRae, I. (2014). "The other subpopulation of Christmas Island White-eye Zosterops natalis (Aves: Zosteropidae): a historic introduction has led to an enduring subpopulation on Horsburgh Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands group" (PDF). Raffles Bulletin of Zoology. Supplement 30: 65–70.
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