The Réunion grey white-eye (''Zosterops borbonicus'') is a small passerine from 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 the islands of
Réunion
Réunion (; french: La Réunion, ; previously ''Île Bourbon''; rcf, label= Reunionese Creole, La Rényon) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas department and region of France. It is located approximately east of the island ...
.
[Gill F. and Donsker D. (eds), Family Zosteropidae, in IOC World Bird Names (ver 6.2), International Ornithologists’ Union, 2016. UR]
/ref>
Taxonomy
The taxon
In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular nam ...
''mauritianus'', by most authorities previously considered a 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 ...
, is now usually considered a separate monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...
species, the Mauritius grey white-eye
The Mauritius grey white-eye (''Zosterops mauritianus'') is a species of bird in the family Zosteropidae. It is one of two white-eye species endemic to the island of Mauritius
Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label= Mauritian ...
, (''Zosterops mauritianus''). Together, both species were called Mascarene white-eye.[Otto Finsch: ''Zosteropidae (Volume 15)'', 1901.]
There is some uncertainty about the number of subspecies on Réunion, with most authorities only accepting a single, the nominate
Nomination is part of the process of selecting a candidate for either election to a public office, or the bestowing of an honor or award. A collection of nominees narrowed from the full list of candidates is a short list.
Political office
In the ...
(''Z. b. borbonicus''), while some also accept ''Z. b. alopekion'', and ''Z. b. xerophilus''. When only a single Réunion subspecies is accepted, ''alopekion'' and ''xerophilus'' are considered to represent morphs of the nominate.
Description
It has a length of 9.5 cm. Its plumage exhibits colour morphs which vary from gray to brown. The tail coverts are conspicuously white, unlike those of the Réunion olive white-eye
The Réunion olive white-eye (''Zosterops olivaceus'') is a species of bird in the family Zosteropidae. It is found on Réunion. Its natural habitats are boreal forests and subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland.
In 1760 the French zool ...
. The rest of the body plumage is variable in hue, though invariably lighter than that of the previous species.blue-grey
Livid is a medium bluish- gray color. This color name comes from the Latin color term ''lividus'' meaning "'a dull leaden-blue color', and also used to describe the color of contused flesh, leading to the English expression 'black and blue'" ...
with a brownish wash to the mantle, and distinctly rufous-brown flanks. It has chestnut
The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere.
The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce.
The unrelat ...
-coloured eyes with a very indistinct 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 ...
, as opposed to that of the Réunion olive white-eye. In both species the breast and flank feathers create a white "epaulette" effect.
Biology
It inhabits woodlands, forests, and gardens. It is the only endemic bird from Réunion which has adapted to man-made conditions. Its diet consists of insects, fruits and nectar. It is also the pollinator
A pollinator is an animal that moves pollen from the male anther of a flower to the female stigma of a flower. This helps to bring about fertilization of the ovules in the flower by the male gametes from the pollen grains.
Insects are the maj ...
for orchids like '' Angraecum striatum'' or the endemic ''Trochetia
''Trochetia'' is a genus of flowering plants from the family Malvaceae (formerly in the Sterculiaceae, but this family is now usually subsumed in the Malvaceae). They are endemic to the Mascarene Islands.
The genus was first described by A.P. d ...
'' species. It moves often in small groups from six to twenty birds in search of food. They are very noisy. The breeding period is in the southern summer. The female lays two to four pale blue eggs in a cup-shaped nest which is padded with plant material.
Gallery
Image:Zosterops borbonicus borbonicus, crop.jpg, Brown morph at Col des Boeufs displaying white "epaulettes"
Image:Reunion Grey White-eye, Saint-Denis, Réunion (177598461).jpg, Foraging at a banana inflorescence at Saint-Denis
References
Bibliography
* France Staub: ''Birds of the Mascarenes and Saint Brandon''. LABAMA HOUSE, Port Louis, Mauritius, 1976.
* France Staub: ''Fauna of Mauritius and associated flora''. Précigraph Limited, Port Louis, Mauritius, 1993.
* Claire Micheneau, Jacques Fournel & Thierry Pailler: ''Bird Pollination in an Angraecoid Orchid on Reunion Island (Mascarene Archipelago, Indian Ocean)''. Annals of Botany 97: S. 965–974, 2006
PDF fulltext
External links
Mascarene White-eye video
on the Internet Bird Collection
Birds described in 1781
Birds of Réunion
Orchid pollinators
Zosterops
{{Zosteropidae-stub