# Cape White-eye

*Zosterops virens*

The distinctive white ring around their eyes is not bare skin, but is actually composed of tiny, specialized white feathers.

- **Taxonomy:** Animalia › Chordata › Aves › Passeriformes › Zosteropidae › Zosterops
- **IUCN Red List status:** Least Concern
- **Population trend:** stable
- **Biome:** forest
- **Habitat:** Evergreen forests, woodland fringes, thickets, and suburban gardens.
- **Diet:** Insects, spiders, nectar, and a variety of small fruits.
- **Range:** South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique, Botswana
- **Size:** 12 cm in length; weight approximately 10-15 grams.
- **Lifespan:** 5-8 years
- **Active:** diurnal
- **Threats:** Habitat loss and fragmentation, though they are highly adaptable to human-modified landscapes.
- **Safe to approach?:** Harmless. These birds are active and social; observe them with binoculars as they forage in trees. They pose no threat to humans, though nesting pairs should be given space to avoid stress.

## About

The Cape white-eye ( Zosterops virens ) is a small passerine bird in the white-eye family. It is native to southern Africa.

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/f7457ee8-3218-4cb1-8050-576ff6987ed0
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/472770
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zosterops virens
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/1070817/medium.JPG (116916927065934112165, CC-BY, via iNaturalist)

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