Grey-throated White-eye
Encyclopedia
The Grey-throated White-eye (Zosterops rendovae) is a species of bird
. Its family
, the Zosteropidae, is probably not valid and belongs in the Timaliidae instead. It is also known as Zosterops ugiensis because Z. rendovae has often been used for the New Georgia White-eye (Z. kulambangrae).
It is found on Guadalcanal
and Makira
Islands in the Solomon Islands
and on Bougainville Island
, geographically part of the Solomons but belonging to Papua New Guinea
. Each island has its own subspecies
: Z. r. rendovae on Makira, Z. r. oblitus on Guadalcanal and Z. r. hamlini on Bougainville. It inhabits primary forest, mainly at 900–2000 m above sea-level but small numbers occur at lower levels.
It is a small bird, 12–13 cm long. It is fairly dark green above with a brownish tail, a variable dark brown area between the eye and bill and a narrow white ring around the eye. The underparts are dark grey apart from the green chin, pale centre to the belly and yellow undertail-coverts. The bill is blackish with a pale base to the lower mandible.
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
. Its family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
, the Zosteropidae, is probably not valid and belongs in the Timaliidae instead. It is also known as Zosterops ugiensis because Z. rendovae has often been used for the New Georgia White-eye (Z. kulambangrae).
It is found on Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal is a tropical island in the South-Western Pacific. The largest island in the Solomons, it was discovered by the Spanish expedition of Alvaro de Mendaña in 1568...
and Makira
Makira
The island of Makira is the largest island of Makira-Ulawa Province in the Solomon Islands. The island is located east of Guadalcanal and south of Malaita. The largest and capital city is Kirakira....
Islands in the Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
and on Bougainville Island
Bougainville Island
Bougainville Island is the main island of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville of Papua New Guinea. This region is also known as Bougainville Province or the North Solomons. The population of the province is 175,160 , which includes the adjacent island of Buka and assorted outlying islands...
, geographically part of the Solomons but belonging to Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
. Each island has its own subspecies
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
: Z. r. rendovae on Makira, Z. r. oblitus on Guadalcanal and Z. r. hamlini on Bougainville. It inhabits primary forest, mainly at 900–2000 m above sea-level but small numbers occur at lower levels.
It is a small bird, 12–13 cm long. It is fairly dark green above with a brownish tail, a variable dark brown area between the eye and bill and a narrow white ring around the eye. The underparts are dark grey apart from the green chin, pale centre to the belly and yellow undertail-coverts. The bill is blackish with a pale base to the lower mandible.