Zosterops simplex
Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic
In 3 days >90%
Swinhoe's white-eye (Zosterops simplex) is a bird species in the white-eye family, Zosteropidae. It is found in eastern China, Taiwan, north Vietnam, the Thai-Malay Peninsula, Sumatra and Borneo. Additionally, populations have also been introduced to Southern California, where their population has been expanding rapidly.
Swinhoe's white-eye was formally described in 1861 by the English naturalist Robert Swinhoe, who assigned it the binomial name Zosterops simplex. The genus Zosterops had been introduced by the naturalists Nicholas Vigors and Thomas Horsfield in 1827. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek words zōstēros meaning "belt" or "girdle" and ōpos meaning "eye". The specific epithet simplex is Latin meaning "simple" or "plain".
This species was previously considered a subspecies group of the Japanese white-eye (Zosterops japonicus), but based on the results of a molecular phylogenetic study published in 2018, it was elevated it to full species status.
Five subspecies are recognised: Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Taroko National Park | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | |
| 2 | Doi Inthanon National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 3 | Cuc Phuong National Park | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | |
| 4 | Khao Yai National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 5 | Jiuzhaigou National Park | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 6 | Kaeng Krachan National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hanoi | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | |
| 2 | Taichung | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | |
| 3 | Zhuhai [Macau] | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 4 | Hong Kong | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 5 | Kaohsiung | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | |
| 6 | Xiamen City | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 7 | Taipei | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | |
| 8 | Guangzhou | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 9 | Shantou | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 10 | Fuzhou | 🇨🇳 China |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leofoo Village Theme Park | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | |
| 2 | Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 3 | Edward Youde Aviary | 🇭🇰 Hong Kong SAR China | |
| 4 | Reptile House | 🇭🇰 Hong Kong SAR China |
Likely
About 60% of wildlife watchers report a Swinhoe’s White-eye sighting in Xiuying District on a given day, based on 47 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 6th most-seen of the 43 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
December to February
In those months about 70% of wildlife watchers report a Swinhoe’s White-eye in Xiuying District on a given day, against about 50% in March and June, the lowest months. Those are among Xiuying District's driest months, with about 35 mm of rain a month against 310 mm in August. May and August–October have too few records to rate.
Between 3 and 6 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Swinhoe’s White-eye sightings with a recorded time, and about half of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
11th of 45
Of the 45 cities where we can rate Swinhoe’s White-eye sightings, Xiuying District ranks 11th at about 60%. The best odds are in Hanoi (Vietnam, about 90%), Taichung (Taiwan, about 90%) and Zhuhai [Macau] (China, about 80%).
Same order: Passeriformes
The closest relatives of the Swinhoe’s White-eye that you can see in Xiuying District (order Passeriformes, Perching Birds) are Oriental Magpie-Robin (about 90%), Light-vented Bulbul (about 70%) and Long-tailed Shrike (about 70%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Swinhoe’s White-eye is recorded against all the birds logged in Xiuying District (47 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.
