Western silvereye

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Western silvereye
Western silvereyes at Ngilgi Cave, Western Australia
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Zosteropidae
Genus: Zosterops
Species:
Z. lateralis
Subspecies:
Z. l. chloronotus
Trinomial name
Zosterops lateralis chloronotus
Gould, 1841
Synonyms
  • Zosterops lateralis gouldi
  • Zosterops chloronotus Gould, 1841
  • Zosterops gouldi Bonaparte, 1850
  • Zosterops shortridgii Ogilvie-Grant, 1909
  • Zosterops gouldi warreni Mathews, 1916
  • Zosterops australasiae edwini Mathews, 1923

The western silvereye (Zosterops lateralis chloronotus) is a small greenish bird in the

Perth area and poang from the Pallinup River.[1]

Distribution and habitat

The western silvereye is found in

temperate eucalypt woodland, mallee woodland and shrubland, and mangroves, as well as areas of and around human habitation.[2]

Description

The upperparts are entirely bright olive-green, with the wings and tail feathers grey, edged with green. The throat and undertail coverts are yellow-green, with the rest of the underparts grey. Circlets of small white feathers surround the eyes. Males are brighter yellow on the throat than females. The birds are 10–13 cm in length and weigh about 10 g.[1][2] They give a variety of high-pitched calls, with the distinctive and constantly uttered contact call a thin ‘psee’.[3]

Taxonomy and nomenclature

The western silvereye is the only green-backed form of the silvereye found in Australia, the other subspecies there having grey backs. According to Serventy and Whittell, who treat it as a full species, the bird also lacks the pre-nuptial moult which characterise the eastern Australian populations of the species.[1]

Because of such differences, the western silvereye has often been considered a full species. However,

Victoria where the latter intergrades with Z. l. westernensis, showing that the various forms meeting in south-eastern Australia are linked by broad zones of morphological intergradation.[2]

The specific (or subspecific) name gouldi Bonaparte, 1850, was previously applied to the bird on the mistaken presumption that chloronotus Gould, 1841 was a junior secondary homonym of Dicaeum chloronothos Viellot, 1817 in Zosterops. Thus chloronotus is the senior synonym and has priority.[2]

Behaviour

Of the general behaviour of the western silvereye, Serventy and Whittell say:

”This is perhaps the commonest small bird in the Perth area and over much of the South-West. After the nesting season, by January, the birds gather into foraging flocks, which are noisily on the move until the pairs separate out again next spring. In the city and suburbs they play the role of the Sparrow (Passer domesticus) in the eastern States, or the tits (Parus) in Europe, visiting gardens, shrubberies and even the backyard fowl-run.”[1]

Breeding

The western silvereye usually builds a suspended cup-shaped

incubate the eggs for a period of 10–13 days, with the young birds leaving the nest about 12 days after hatching.[1] Breeding takes place mainly in the wetter, coastal part of the range from September to January, with the birds forming large flocks and moving further afield once breeding has ceased. When breeding conditions are good, pairs can produce and raise up to four broods in a season.[3]

Feeding

Nectar from marri flowers is a favoured food

Western silvereyes are

golden whistlers.[4] In summer when their natural food supplies are scarce, they flock to vineyards and orchards and damage grapes and other soft fruits. When marri trees are flowering and producing large amounts of nectar in summer, damage to fruit is usually minimal.[3]

Relationship with humans

In Western Australia, the western silvereye is a declared pest of agriculture under the provisions of the Agriculture and Related Resources Protection Act 1976, administered by the Western Australian Department of Agriculture and Food.[3]

References

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f Serventy & Whittell (1976).
  2. ^ a b c d Schodde & Mason (1999).
  3. ^ a b c d Dept of Environment and Conservation, WA (2007).
  4. ^ Higgins et al. (2006).

Sources

  • Department of Environment and Conservation, Western Australia (12 December 2007). Silvereye (PDF) (Report). Fauna Note No.25. Retrieved 2010-06-15.
  • Higgins, P.J.; Peter, J.M. & Cowling, S.J. (2006).
    ISBN 978-0-19-553996-7
    .
  • Schodde, R. & Mason, I.J. (1999). The Directory of Australian Birds: Passerines. Melbourne: CSIRO Publishing. pp. 687–691.
    ISBN 0-643-06456-7
    .
  • Serventy, D.L. & Whittell, H.M. (1976).
    ISBN 0-85564-101-0
    .
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