Zosterops simplex
Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~60%
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 |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Swinhoe’s White-eye sighting in Cuc Phuong National Park on a given day, based on 48 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 58th most-seen of the 159 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Swinhoe’s White-eye in Cuc Phuong National Park on a given day, against under 5% in October, the lowest month. That is one of Cuc Phuong National Park's driest months, with about 80 mm of rain against 390 mm in August. July has 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.
3rd of 6
Of the 6 parks where we can rate Swinhoe’s White-eye sightings, Cuc Phuong National Park ranks 3rd at about 10%. The best odds are in Taroko National Park (Taiwan, about 30%) and Doi Inthanon National Park (Thailand, about 10%).
Same order: Passeriformes
The closest relatives of the Swinhoe’s White-eye that you can see in Cuc Phuong National Park (order Passeriformes, Perching Birds) are Pin-striped Tit-Babbler (about 60%), Fork-tailed Sunbird (about 60%) and White-bellied Yuhina (about 50%), 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 Cuc Phuong National Park (48 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
