Silvereye
| Silvereye | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Zosteropidae |
| Genus: | Zosterops |
| Species: | Z. lateralis
|
| Binomial name | |
| Zosterops lateralis (Latham, 1801)
| |
The silvereye or wax-eye (Zosterops lateralis) is a very small omnivorous passerine bird of the south-west Pacific. In Australia and New Zealand its common name is sometimes white-eye, but this name is more commonly used to talk about all members of the genus Zosterops, or the entire family Zosteropidae.
In New Zealand, the silvereye was first recorded in 1832. It many more were seen in 1856, and it is assumed that a migrating flock was thrown eastwards by a storm.[2] As a self-introduced bird it is protected as a native New Zealand species. Its Māori name, tauhou, means "stranger" or more literally, "new arrival".
References
[change | change source]- ↑ BirdLife International (2012). "Zosterops lateralis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2012. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
- ↑ "Silvereye". An Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Te Ara – The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 2012-09-06.