| Silvereye | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Zosteropidae |
| Genus: | Zosterops |
| Species: | Z. lateralis
|
| Binomial name | |
| Zosterops lateralis (Latham, 1801)
| |
The silvereye or wax-eye (Zosterops lateralis), also known by its Māori name tauhou, is a very small omnivorous passerine bird of the south-west Pacific. In Australia and New Zealand its common name is sometimes white-eye, but this name is more commonly used to refer to all members of the genus Zosterops, or the entire family Zosteropidae.
In New Zealand, the silvereye was first recorded in 1832. It arrived in greater numbers in 1856, and it is assumed that a migrating flock was swept eastwards by a storm.[2] As an apparently self-introduced bird it is protected as a native New Zealand species. Its Māori name, tauhou, means "stranger" or more literally, "new arrival".
- ^ BirdLife International (2017). "Zosterops lateralis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017: e.T22714212A111781721. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-1.RLTS.T22714212A111781721.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
- ^ "Silvereye". An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand. Te Ara – The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 2012-09-06.