The northern yellow white-eye (''Zosterops senegalensis''), formerly the African yellow white-eye, is a species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

in the family

Zosteropidae The white-eyes are a family, Zosteropidae, of small passerine birds native to tropical, subtropical and temperate Sub-Saharan Africa, southern and eastern Asia, and Australasia. White-eyes inhabit most tropical islands in the Indian Ocean, the ...

. It is found across sub-Saharan Africa, from Senegal in the west across to southern Sudan in the east and south to northern Angola.

Taxonomy

The northern yellow white-eye formerly included additional subspecies. These were split to create the southern yellow white-eye and the green white-eye based partly on the results of a molecular phylogenic study in 2013. There are seven subspecies: * ''Z. s. senegalensis'' Bonaparte, 1850 – Mauritania and Senegal to northwest Ethiopia * ''Z. s. jacksoni''

Neumann Neumann is German language, German and Yiddish language, Yiddish for "new man", and one of the List of the most common surnames in Europe#Germany, 20 most common German surnames. People * Von Neumann family, a Jewish Hungarian noble family A� ...

, 1899 – west Kenya and north Tanzania * ''Z. s. demeryi'' Büttikofer, 1890 – Sierra Leone, Liberia and Ivory Coast * ''Z. s. gerhardi'' Elzen & König, C, 1983 – south Sudan and northeast Uganda * ''Z. s. kasaicus'' Chapin, 1932 – central D.R. Congo to northeast Angola * ''Z. s. heinrichi''

Meise Meise () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant. The municipality comprises the towns of Meise proper and Wolvertem (a ''deelgemeente''), and, several smaller villages like Sint-Brixius-Rode, Oppem, Meusegem, Impde/I ...

, 1958 – northwest Angola * ''Z. s. quanzae'' Meyer de Schauensee, 1932 – central Angola

Description

A small yellow bird with a prominent white eye ring surrounding a dark eye. The underparts and head are yellow, with a black loral stripe, black bill, the flight and tail feathers are brown edged with yellowish olive. Some

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

are greener, especially those occurring in forest. Juveniles are darker. This bird measures 11·5 cm in length and the weight varies from 6.8 to 14.1g.

Distribution

The northern yellow white-eye is widely distributed in

sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...

from

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...

and

Mauritania Mauritania (; ar, موريتانيا, ', french: Mauritanie; Berber: ''Agawej'' or ''Cengit''; Pulaar: ''Moritani''; Wolof: ''Gànnaar''; Soninke:), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( ar, الجمهورية الإسلامية ...

in the west east to

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

and

Eritrea Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...

then south to northern Angola.

Behavior

The northern yellow white-eye has been recorded as a host of the

brood parasite Brood parasites are animals that rely on others to raise their young. The strategy appears among birds, insects and fish. The brood parasite manipulates a host, either of the same or of another species, to raise its young as if it were its own ...

green-backed honeybird The green-backed honeybird (''Prodotiscus zambesiae''), also known as the eastern green-backed honeyguide, green-backed honeyguide and slender-billed honeyguide, is a species of bird in the family Indicatoridae. Range It is found in Angola, Bots ...

. The northern yellow white-eye has a diet that mainly consists of insects;

caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sym ...

aphid Aphids are small sap-sucking insects and members of the superfamily Aphidoidea. Common names include greenfly and blackfly, although individuals within a species can vary widely in color. The group includes the fluffy white woolly aphids. A t ...

s and

termite Termites are small insects that live in colonies and have distinct castes (eusocial) and feed on wood or other dead plant matter. Termites comprise the infraorder Isoptera, or alternatively the epifamily Termitoidae, within the order Blattode ...

alate Alate (Latin ''ālātus'', from ''āla'' (“wing”)) is an adjective and noun used in entomology and botany to refer to something that has wings or winglike structures. In entomology In entomology, "alate" usually refers to the winged form o ...

s have all been recorded, supplemented with some fruit including those of

figs The fig is the edible fruit of ''Ficus carica'', a species of small tree in the flowering plant family Moraceae. Native to the Mediterranean and western Asia, it has been cultivated since ancient times and is now widely grown throughout the world ...

and the cabbage tree ''

Cussonia ''Cussonia'' is a genus of plants of the family Araliaceae, which is native to the Afrotropics. It originated in Africa and has its center of distribution in South Africa and the Mascarene Islands. Due to their striking habit, they are a consp ...

spp''. It forages among the canopy of trees, gleaning prey from foliage and bark. It is frequently recorded as a member of mixed-species foraging flocks. Also takes nectar from flowers. The nest is a small cup made out of dried grass and small twigs, placed among the foliage in a small tree about 3.5m above the ground and secured with spider web. The clutch of 2-4 eggs is laid from August–January, with most being laid in September–October. Incubation takes about 11–12 days and both sexes share this duty as well as the feeding of the nestling young which fledge after around two weeks. If disturbed in the nest the young will often panic and jump out of the nest.

References

External links

Species text
- ''The Atlas of Southern African Birds'' {{Taxonbar, from=Q2668026

northern yellow white-eye The northern yellow white-eye (''Zosterops senegalensis''), formerly the African yellow white-eye, is a species of bird in the family Zosteropidae. It is found across sub-Saharan Africa, from Senegal in the west across to southern Sudan in the eas ...

Birds of Sub-Saharan Africa

Taxonomy articles created by Polbot