Species profile
Cape White-eye
Zosterops virens
Quick answer
TYPE MATERIAL: Sundevall in his original description (1850: 101) mentioned both males and females. According to his acquisition catalogue and catalogue of duplicates in combination, he must have had five specimens at hand for the description. Gyldenstolpe (1926: 34 – 35) referred to NRM 568709 [6675] as a “ type ”; which we treat as a lectotype designation of this male collected 15 August 1840 in Durban. The four paralectotypes are: NRM 568710 [6676], a female collected 12 June 1840 in Durban; NRM 90140115 [6674], a male collected 24 September 1843 in Matlapengberg; NRM 90140114 [6673], a male collected 29 June 1840 in Pietermaritzburg; and a male [4703] collected 30 September 1839 in Durban and sent on exchange to Berlin in 1853 (but not found in the ZMB database). VERIFIED TYPE LOCALITY: Durban, KwaZulu-Natal.
- Scientific name
- Zosterops virens
- Family
- Zosteropidae
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Genus
- Zosterops
- Conservation status
- Least Concern
Recording Cape White-eye in your journal
When you see this bird, log the sighting with the date, the place and any photos. If it's your first, Feather Journal marks it as a lifer and adds it to your life list automatically — no spreadsheet, no re-typing.
Related species in Zosteropidae
- Abyssinian White-eye (Zosterops abyssinicus)
- African Yellow White-eye (Zosterops senegalensis)
- Aldabra White-eye (Zosterops aldabrensis)
- Ambon White-eye (Zosterops kuehni)
- Anjouan White-eye (Zosterops anjuanensis)
- Annobon White-eye (Zosterops griseovirescens)
- Ashy-bellied White-eye (Zosterops citrinella)
- Australian Yellow White-eye (Zosterops luteus)