Zosterops lateralis
The Silvereye, *Zosterops lateralis*, is a small, agile passerine belonging to the white-eye family Zosteropidae, instantly recognizable by its distinctive, spectacle-like white eye-ring. Measuring approximately 11-13 cm in length, with a wingspan of 15-18 cm and weighing 10-15 grams, its plumage typically features an olive-green back and head, greyish underparts often with prominent rufous-brown flanks (especially in eastern Australian and New Zealand populations), and a yellow vent. This sp...
Silvereyes inhabit a wide range of environments from temperate and subtropical forests, woodlands, and scrub to coastal heath, urban gardens, and orchards, typically from sea level up to moderate elevations.
Silvereyes are omnivorous, primarily consuming insects (especially caterpillars, aphids, and spiders), nectar from a wide variety of flowers, and a diverse range of soft fruits and berries, foraging actively by gleaning, probing, and hovering.
These highly active, diurnal birds are renowned for their social nature, often forming large, vocal flocks outside the breeding season, which roost communally in dense vegetation. Foraging is a constant activity, with Silvereyes expertly gleaning insects from foliage, probing flowers for nectar w...
The Silvereye boasts a wide and dynamic distribution across the southwestern Pacific. Its primary breeding range encompasses southern and eastern Australia, including Tasmania, extending northward to Queensland. Significantly, it naturally colonized New Zealand in the 1850s, establishing itself a...
Least Concern
- The Silvereye's distinctive white eye-ring gives it the common name "wax-eye" or "white-eye" in many parts of its range, particularly New Zealand. - This small bird achieved one of the most remarkable natural colonizations in ornithological history, crossing the Tasman Sea (over 2,000 km) from ...