The Grey-throated White-eye (Zosterops rendovae) is a species of bird.
Its family, the Zosteropidae, is probably not valid and belongs to the Timaliidae (Old World Babblers) instead. It is also known as Zosterops ugiensis because Z. rendovae has often been used for the New Georgia White-eye (Z. kulambangrae).
Distribution
It is found on Guadalcanal and Makira Islands in the Solomon Islands and on Bougainville Island, geographically part of the Solomons but belonging to Papua New Guinea.
Each island has its subspecies: Z. r. rendovae on Makira, Z. r. oblitus on Guadalcanal, and Z. r. hamlini on Bougainville. It inhabits primary forest, mainly at 900–2000 m above sea level but small numbers occur at lower levels.
Description
It is a small bird, 12–13 cm long. It is fairly dark green above with a brownish tail, a variable dark brown area between the eye and bill, and a narrow white ring around the eye. The underparts are dark grey apart from the green chin, pale centre to the belly and yellow undertail-coverts. The bill is blackish with a pale base to the lower mandible.
References
- BirdLife International (2009) Zosterops rendovae In IUCN 2009. UCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.2. www.iucnredlist.org Retrieved on 9 January 2010.Internet Bird Collection. <“Grey-throated White-eye (Zosterops rendovae)”. http://ibc.lynxeds.com/species/grey-throated-white-eye-zosterops-rendovae. Retrieved 9 January 2010.Mees, G. F. (1955). “The name of the white-eye from Rendova Island (Solomon Islands)”. Zoologische Mededelingen 33 (28): 99–100. http://www.repository.naturalis.nl/document/150019.Doughty, Chris; Nicolas Day and Andrew Plant (1999). Birds of the Solomons, Vanuatu, and New Caledonia. London: Christopher Helm.
Further Reading
- Old World Babblers
- White-eye Information Page
- White-eye Species Index
- White-eye Species Photo Gallery
