Gray-coat spectacle bird

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gray-coat spectacle bird
Silvereye Jan 2010.jpg

Gray-coat spectacled bird ( Zosterops lateralis )

Systematics
Order : Passerines (Passeriformes)
Subordination : Songbirds (passeri)
Superfamily : Sylvioidea
Family : Spectacled birds (Zosteropidae)
Genre : Zosterops
Type : Gray-coat spectacle bird
Scientific name
Zosterops lateralis
( Latham , 1801)

The gray- coat spectacle bird ( Zosterops lateralis , English silvereye or wax-eye ) is a spectacle bird that is indigenous in the Australian and oceanic regions .

The gray-coat spectacled bird was first observed in New Zealand in 1832. The birds reached New Zealand in greater numbers in 1856 and a flock is believed to have been swept across the Tasman Sea by a storm . As a self-immigrated bird, the gray-coat spectacled bird is protected as a native species in New Zealand. The Maori name is tauhou , which means as much as "stranger".

Taxonomy

The gray-coated spectacled bird was first described in 1801 by the English ornithologist John Latham under the scientific name Sylvia lateralis .

There are 16 subspecies of the gray-coat spectacled bird:

Partly the occurrence on Lord Howe Island is listed as a separate species Zosterops tephropleurus (English "Lord Howe White-eye"), partly as another subspecies Zosterops lateralis tephropleurus of the gray- coated spectacled bird.

  • Cornwalli subspecies

  • Lateralis subspecies

  • Pinarochrous subspecies

  • Subspecies chloronotus

  • Lord Howe White-eye

description

Smaller than a sparrow, the birds are 11 to 13 cm tall and weigh about 10 g. There is a ring of small white feathers around the eyes; the eponymous "glasses". There are a number of plumage variations in the subspecies. Basically, the birds have olive-green wings and a gray or olive-green back. The throat is lighter (yellow or gray), the color of the flanks ranges from maroon to a pale yellow-brown. The color of the tail is white or yellow. There are seasonal migrations within Australia and the ranges of the subspecies there overlap. There is usually only one subspecies on the islands, so only one plumage variant can be found there.

distribution

Distribution area

The gray-coat spectacled bird is native to Australia , New Zealand , New Caledonia , Vanuatu, and Fiji . It is common in the fertile southwest and southeast of Australia (including Tasmania and the Bass Strait Islands ) and the tropical coastal zone of Queensland (including the Cape York Peninsula ).

In the distribution areas, the gray-coated spectacled bird can be found in forest, bush and garden areas, but not in open grasslands.

food

Gray-coat-eyed birds are omnivores. Their diet consists mainly of insects, berries, fruits and nectar.

behavior

Clutch
Nest with chicks
Young bird

Gray-coat spectacled birds breed in spring and early summer (mainly between September and December). The nest is padded with grass, moss, hair, spider threads and is usually located on a fork of a branch in the outer area of ​​small trees or bushes. The female lays two to four light blue eggs. As a rule, two (sometimes three) broods are raised per year. The young hatch after about 10 days of incubation. The young are independent after three weeks and reproductive after 9 months.

In late summer, the gray-coated spectacled birds gather in flocks. In Australia, these schools migrate north along the coast. This involves flying long distances, especially at night. Most of the Tasmanian birds migrate across the Bass Strait (about 200 km wide at the narrowest point) and migrate to Victoria, New South Wales and southeast Queensland. The populations of these areas tend to move further north themselves; while the northernmost birds stay in the breeding area all year round. In Western Australia, the birds have been found to move between the mainland and the offshore islands.

supporting documents

  1. ^ IOC World Bird List, version 8.1, Multilingual Version . International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
  2. ↑ Silvereye . In: An Encyclopedia of New Zealand . Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved September 6, 2012.
  3. ^ John Latham : Supplementum indicis ornithologici sive systematis ornithologiae ( Latin ). Leigh & Sotheby, London 1801, p. Lv.
  4. ↑ a b James F. Clements, TS Schulenberg, MJ Iliff, D. Roberson, TA Fredericks, BL Sullivan, CL Wood: The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World, August 2017 Updates and Corrections . Cornell University, Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
  5. ↑ Sylviid babblers, parrotbills & white-eyes . In: World Bird List Version 5.4 . International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
  6. ↑ J. Sansom and M. Blythman: From Perth to Rottnest and back again: Silvereye movements across open water . In: The Western Australian Naturalist . 30, No. 1, September, p. 53.

Web links

Commons : Gray-coat-eyed bird ( Zosterops lateralis )  - Collection of images, videos and audio files