Australian Yellow White-eye

About the Australian Yellow White-eye

The canary white-eye or yellow white-eye (Zosterops luteus) is a species of white-eye endemic to northern Australia in subtropical or tropical mangrove forests. Its common name reflects the circle of white feathers around its eye.

Zosterops luteus is a small white-eye with a bright olive back and yellow underparts and lores. It has a characteristic ring of silver-white feathers around its eyes, with a dark loral stripe. It is a nectar feeder with a short, sharp beak and a brush-tipped tongue similar to the honeyeaters.

The bird is 100–110 mm long, with a wingspan of 52–59 mm, a bill of 13-16mm and weighs between 6.5 and 11.0 grams. The canary white-eye or yellow white-eye is a member of the family Zosteropidae, known as white-eyes, or silver-eyes. Their distribution includes Africa, south and east Asia, Australia, and many islands in the Indian and west Pacific Oceans.

The lectotype for this species is ANSP 18264, an adult male collected at Port Essington in the Northern Territory and held in the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, Philadelphia. There is also a paralectotype ANSP 18265, another adult male collected from... Wikipedia →