The Orange River white-eye (''Zosterops pallidus'') is a species of bird 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 ...

, which is native to

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. It was formerly deemed conspecific with the Cape white-eye (''Zosterops virens''), but the two species occur sympatrically in central South Africa, and they are genetically distinct.

Subspecies

Four subspecies have been proposed based on plumage colour and size differences: * ''Zosterops pallidus pallidus'' — Northern Cape, North West, Gauteng, Free State * ''Zosterops pallidus sundevalli'' Hartlaub — tributaries of upper Orange and lower to mid Vaal River * ''Zosterops pallidus deserticola'' Reichenow — lower Orange River and its tributaries * ''Zosterops pallidus haigamchabensis'' — northern Namibia to Northern Cape, South Africa

Range

It occurs at highest densities in the catchment areas of the

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

and

Vaal River The Vaal River ( ; Khoemana: ) is the largest tributary of the Orange River in South Africa. The river has its source near Breyten in Mpumalanga province, east of Johannesburg and about north of Ermelo and only about from the Indian Ocean. ...

s, where it is locally very common. It is also present at more isolated locations in the

Nama Karoo Nama Karoo is a xeric shrubland ecoregion located on the central plateau of South Africa and Namibia. It occupies most of the interior of the western half of South Africa and extends into the southern interior of Namibia. Climate The climate te ...

Namaqualand Namaqualand (khoekhoe: "Nama-kwa" meaning Nama Khoe people's land) is an arid region of Namibia and South Africa, extending along the west coast over and covering a total area of . It is divided by the lower course of the Orange River into ...

Namib The Namib ( ; pt, Namibe) is a coastal desert in Southern Africa. The name is of Khoekhoegowab origin and means "vast place". According to the broadest definition, the Namib stretches for more than along the Atlantic coasts of Angola, Namib ...

, Namibian escarpment, uplands of

Damaraland Damaraland was a name given to the north-central part of what later became Namibia, inhabited by the Damara (people), Damaras. It was bounded roughly by Ovamboland in the north, the Namib Desert in the west, the Kalahari Desert in the east, a ...

, and

mopane ''Colophospermum mopane'', commonly called mopane, mopani, balsam tree, butterfly tree, or turpentine tree, is a tree in the legume family (Fabaceae), that grows in hot, dry, low-lying areas, in elevation, in the far northern parts of southern A ...

-veld in the far north. In dry regions it associates with vegetation fringing periodically dry streambeds. No extensive movements have been recorded.

Habitat

Forages in native and introduced willows (''

Salix Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist so ...

'' spp.), currant-rhus ('' Searsia'' spp.), thorn trees (''

Acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa and Australasia. The genus na ...

'') and reeds (''

Phragmites ''Phragmites'' () is a genus of four species of large perennial reed grasses found in wetlands throughout temperate and tropical regions of the world. Taxonomy The World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, maintained by Kew Garden in London ...

''). Commonly found in gardens, parks and plantations where it frequents any available vegetation.

Description

The sexes are alike and

measure Measure may refer to: * Measurement, the assignment of a number to a characteristic of an object or event Law * Ballot measure, proposed legislation in the United States * Church of England Measure, legislation of the Church of England * Mea ...

10-13 cm from bill to tail tip. It has pale

olive green Olive is a dark yellowish-green color, like that of unripe or green olives. As a color word in the English language, it appears in late Middle English. Shaded toward gray, it becomes olive drab. Variations Olivine Olivine is the typical ...

upper part plumage, a yellow throat and supraloral stripe, and a tawny buff tone to the flanks and sides of breast, which is regionally diagnostic. The lore plumage and bare parts are black. The juvenile plumage is a pale version of the adult's, and the white

eye-ring The eye-ring of a bird is a ring of tiny feathers that surrounds the orbital ring, a ring of bare skin immediately surrounding a bird's eye. The eye-ring is often decorative, and its colour may contrast with adjoining plumage. The ring of feather ...

s appear during the second month.

Habits

They glean insects from foliage and tree bark, but also take small fruit, including dry ''Searsia'' berries. Outside the breeding season they move about in small foraging parties. Individuals loosely follow the trail of a leading bird, and they have been noticed to mix with non-breeding Cape white-eyes. The usual song is subdued and muted except when excited, but a sustained warbling song is heard in the breeding season.

Nesting

They breed during the summer months. Breeding information is very incomplete, but a clutch of three pale blue eggs has been recorded. Dry pliable plant material is used in building the deep cup nest, which is slung between horizontal twigs and strengthened with cobweb.

Gallery

Orange river White-eye på Phragmites australis (Vass)-2338 - Flickr - Ragnhild & Neil Crawford.jpg, Perched on a '' Phragmitis'' reed near

Aussenkehr Aussenkehr (german: Outer bend, referring to the flow of the Orange at this location) is a farm on the banks of the Orange River in the south of Namibia hard on the border with South Africa. Aussenkehr falls within the Karasburg Constituency of th ...

, lower Orange River Orange river White-eye-2278 - Flickr - Ragnhild & Neil Crawford.jpg, Near Aussenkehr on the lower Orange River

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1589575 Orange River white-eye Birds of Southern Africa Orange River white-eye