Zosterops virens
Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic
In 3 days >90%
The Cape white-eye (Zosterops virens) is a small passerine bird in the white-eye family. It is native to southern Africa. It is commonly found in suburbia, parks and gardens, besides a variety of mesic to well-watered habitats.
These subspecies interbreed where they come into contact. The Orange River white-eye (Z. pallidus) has been split from the Cape white-eye. This species is about 12 cm long with rounded wings, strong legs, and a conspicuous ring of white feathers round the eyes. The upperparts are green, and the throat and vent are bright yellow.
They are very vocal, and constantly keep in touch with soft trilled pee, pree or pirreee call notes. The song consists of repeated long jerky phrases of sweet reedy notes, varying in pitch, volume and... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Garden Route National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Golden Gate Highlands National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Addo Elephant National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 5 | De Hoop Nature Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 6 | West Coast National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 7 | Pilanesberg National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 8 | Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 9 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 10 | uMkhuze Game Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 11 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cape Town | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Pretoria | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Johannesburg | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Durban | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
Very likely
About 70% of wildlife watchers report a Cape White-eye sighting in Cape Town on a given day, based on 3,335 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the most-seen of the 196 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March–April, July, September and November
In those months about 80% of wildlife watchers report a Cape White-eye in Cape Town on a given day, against about 60% in February, the lowest month.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Cape White-eye sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 4 cities where we can rate Cape White-eye sightings, Cape Town has the highest daily chance: about 70%. Next come Pretoria (South Africa, about 60%) and Johannesburg (South Africa, about 50%).
Same order: Passeriformes
The closest relatives of the Cape White-eye that you can see in Cape Town (order Passeriformes, Perching Birds) are European Starling (about 70%), Cape Sparrow (about 70%) and Red-winged Starling (about 60%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Cape White-eye is recorded against all the birds logged in Cape Town (3,335 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
