# Silvereye

*Zosterops lateralis*

The distinctive white 'spectacles' around their eyes are actually composed of tiny, specialized feathers.

- **Taxonomy:** Animalia › Chordata › Aves › Passeriformes › Zosteropidae › Zosterops
- **IUCN Red List status:** Least Concern
- **Population trend:** stable
- **Biome:** forest
- **Habitat:** Found in a wide range of environments including rainforests, scrublands, orchards, and suburban gardens.
- **Diet:** Omnivorous; primarily feeds on insects, nectar, and small fruits like grapes and figs.
- **Range:** Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Vanuatu, French Polynesia
- **Size:** Small passerine, 10-12 cm in length, weighing 10-13 grams.
- **Lifespan:** Typically 7 to 10 years in the wild.
- **Active:** diurnal
- **Threats:** Predation by domestic cats and invasive rats; habitat loss in certain localized regions.
- **Safe to approach?:** Completely harmless and highly active. Observe from a distance with binoculars to see their social interactions. Keep domestic cats indoors to prevent predation on these small birds.

## About

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 refer to all members of the genus Zosterops , or the entire family Zosteropidae.

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/d57ad759-d7c7-4c3d-9ede-4d73f373d2ca
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/202505
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zosterops lateralis
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/309196442/medium.jpeg (BIHNZ, CC-BY, via iNaturalist)

Habitat, diet, size and similar notes are AI-written summaries; check them against the linked sources before relying on them.