Zosterops palpebrosus
Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
The Indian white-eye (Zosterops palpebrosus), formerly the Oriental white-eye, is a small species of passerine bird in the white-eye family. It is a resident breeder in open woodland on the Indian subcontinent. They forage in small groups, feeding on nectar and small insects. The distinctive white eye-ring and overall yellowish upperparts easily identify them. The range previously extended eastwards to Southeast Asia, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Their name was recently changed because previous members of Zosterops palpebrosus in Southeast Asia were reclassified as a new species, making the Indian White-eye a more geographically accurate term for this species.
The Indian white-eye was described by the Dutch zoologist Coenraad Jacob Temminck in 1824, based on a specimen collected in Bengal. He coined the binomial name Sylvia palpebrosa. The English and scientific names refer to the conspicuous ring of white feathers round the eyes, palpebrosus being Neo-Latin for "having prominent eyelids", from the Latin palpebrae "eyelids".
The English name of this species was changed from "Oriental white-eye" to "Indian white-eye" to more accurately reflect the geographic range following... Wikipedia →
Recording0:12
India · 2025
© Ashwin A · iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0
Recording0:10
China · 2022
© Yi-Shan Zhao · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
Recording0:17
India · 2025
© Sarvesh Arun · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pairi Daiza | 🇧🇪 Belgium | |
| 2 | Philadelphia Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report an Indian White-eye sighting in Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte] on a given day, based on 356 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 81st most-seen of the 204 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January–April and August
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report an Indian White-eye in Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte] on a given day, against under 5% in May–July and September–December, the lowest months.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Indian White-eye sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
38th of 46
Of the 46 cities where we can rate Indian White-eye sightings, Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte] ranks 38th at under 5%. The best odds are in Dehradun (India, about 60%), Nashik (India, about 50%) and Islamabad (Pakistan, about 50%).
Same order: Passeriformes
The closest relatives of the Indian White-eye that you can see in Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte] (order Passeriformes, Perching Birds) are House Crow (about 80%), Yellow-billed Babbler (about 70%) and Common Tailorbird (about 70%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Indian White-eye is recorded against all the birds logged in Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte] (356 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.
