Zosterops

Zosterops
Z. palpebrosus egregius, Sri Lanka
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Zosteropidae
Genus: Zosterops
Vigors & Horsfield, 1827
Type species
Motacilla maderaspatana (Malagasy white-eye)
Linnaeus, 1766
Species

See text

Zosterops (meaning "eye-girdle") is a genus of passerine birds containing the typical white-eyes in the white-eye family Zosteropidae. The genus has the largest number of species in the white-eye family. They occur in the Afrotropical, Indomalayan, and Australasian realms. Typical white-eyes have a length of between 8 and 15 cm (3 and 6 in). Their most characteristic feature is a conspicuous white feather ring around the eye, though some species lack it. The species in this group vary in the structural adaptations of the tongue.[1] The Zosterops [griseotinctus] group is an example of a "great speciator" inhabiting a vast area and showing a remarkable morphological differentiation on islands, some of which may be as close as 2 km (1.2 mi) apart.[2]

  1. ^ Moreau, R. E.; Perrins, M.; Hughes, J. T. (1969). "Tongues of the Zosteropidae (white-eyes)". Ardea. 57: 29–47.
  2. ^ Moyle, R. G.; Filardi, C. E.; Smith, C. E.; Diamond, J. (2009). "Explosive Pleistocene diversification and hemispheric expansion of a "great speciator"". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 106 (6): 1863–1868. Bibcode:2009PNAS..106.1863M. doi:10.1073/pnas.0809861105. PMC 2644129. PMID 19181851.