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Zosterops

{{Short description|Genus of birds}}

{{Italic title}}

{{Automatic taxobox

| name = Zosterops

| image = Indian white-eye (Zosterops palpebrosus egregius).jpg

| image_caption = Z. palpebrosus egregius, Sri Lanka

| taxon = Zosterops

| authority = Vigors & Horsfield, 1827

| type_species = Motacilla maderaspatana (Malagasy white-eye)

| type_species_authority = Linnaeus, 1766

| subdivision_ranks = Species

| subdivision = See text

}}

Zosterops (meaning "eye-girdle") is a genus of passerine birds containing the typical white-eyes in the white-eye family Zosteropidae. The genus has the largest number of species in the white-eye family. They occur in the Afrotropical, Indomalayan, and Australasian realms. Typical white-eyes have a length of between {{cvt|8|and|15|cm|0|abbr=on}}. Their most characteristic feature is a conspicuous white feather ring around the eye, though some species lack it. The species in this group vary in the structural adaptations of the tongue.{{ cite journal | title=Tongues of the Zosteropidae (white-eyes)| last1=Moreau | first1=R. E. | last2=Perrins | first2=M. | last3=Hughes | first3=J. T. |year=1969 |journal=Ardea| volume=57 | pages=29–47}} The Zosterops [griseotinctus] group is an example of a "great speciator" inhabiting a vast area and showing a remarkable morphological differentiation on islands, some of which may be as close as {{cvt|2|km}} apart.{{ cite journal | last1=Moyle | first1=R. G. | last2=Filardi | first2=C. E. | last3=Smith | first3=C. E. | last4=Diamond | first4=J. | year=2009 | title=Explosive Pleistocene diversification and hemispheric expansion of a "great speciator" | journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences | volume=106 | issue=6 | pages=1863–1868 | doi=10.1073/pnas.0809861105| pmc=2644129 | pmid=19181851| bibcode=2009PNAS..106.1863M | doi-access=free }}

Systematics

The genus Zosterops was introduced by the naturalists Nicholas Vigors and Thomas Horsfield in 1827.{{ cite journal | last1=Vigors | first1=Nicholas Aylward | author1-link=Nicholas Aylward Vigors | last2=Horsfield | first2=Thomas | author2-link=Thomas Horsfield | date=1826 | publication-date=1827 | title=Australian birds in the collection of the Linnean Society; with an attempt at arranging them according to their natural affinities | journal=Transactions of the Linnean Society of London | volume=15 | issue=1 | language=en, la| pages=170–334 [234] | url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/778483 | doi=10.1111/j.1095-8339.1826.tb00115.x}} The title page is dated 1826. The name combines the Ancient Greek words zōstēros "belt" or "girdle" and ōpos "eye".{{cite book | last=Jobling | first=James A. | year=2010| title=The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names | publisher=Christopher Helm | location=London | isbn=978-1-4081-2501-4 | page=414 | url=https://archive.org/stream/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling#page/n414/mode/1up }} The type species was designated as the Malagasy white-eye by René Lesson in 1828.{{Cite book | last=Lesson | first=René P. | date=1828 | author-link=René Lesson | title=Manuel d'ornithologie, ou Description des genres et des principales espèces d'oiseaux | volume=1 | language=French | location=Paris | publisher=Roret | page=286 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/55490369 }}{{ cite book | editor-last=Paynter | editor-first=Raymond A. Jr | year=1986 | title=Check-list of Birds of the World | volume=12 | publisher=Museum of Comparative Zoology | place=Cambridge, Massachusetts | page=290 | url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/14482407 }}

The results of a series of molecular phylogenetic studies of the Zosteropidae published between 2014 and 2018 prompted a major revision of species limits, in which 10 new genera were introduced. In the reorganisation, the English names of three of the existing genera were replaced.{{ cite journal | last1=Cox | first1=S.C. | last2=Prys-Jones | first2=R.P. | last3=Habel | first3=J.C. | last4=Amakobe | first4=B.A. | last5=Day | first5=J.J. | year=2014 | title=Niche divergence promotes rapid diversification of East African sky island white-eyes (Aves: Zosteropidae) | journal=Molecular Ecology | volume=23 | issue=16 | pages=4103–4118 | doi=10.1111/mec.12840 | pmid=24954273 | pmc=4255762 | doi-access=free | bibcode=2014MolEc..23.4103C }}{{ cite journal | last1=Wells | first1=D.R. | year=2017 | title=Zosterops white-eyes in continental South-East Asia. 1: proposed refinements to the regional definition of Oriental White-eye Z. palpebrosus | journal=Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club | volume=137 | issue=2 | pages=100–109 | doi=10.25226/bboc.v137i2.2017.a12 | doi-access=free }}{{ cite journal | last1=Wells | first1=D.R. | year=2017 | title=Zosterops white-eyes in continental South-East Asia. 2: what is Zosterops auriventer Hume? | journal=Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club | volume=137 | issue=2 | pages=110–117 | doi=10.25226/bboc.v137i2.2017.a13 | doi-access=free }}{{ cite journal | last1=Lim | first1=B.T.M. | last2=Sadanandan | first2=K.R. | last3=Dingle | first3=C. | last4=Leung | first4=Y.Y. | last5=Prawiradilaga | first5=D.M. | last6=Irham | first6=M. | last7=Ashari | first7=H. | last8=Lee | first8=J.G.H. | last9=Rheindt | first9=F.E. | year=2018 | title=Molecular evidence suggests radical revision of species limits in the great speciator white‑eye genus Zosterops | journal=Journal of Ornithology | volume= 160| pages= 1–16| doi=10.1007/s10336-018-1583-7 | s2cid=254162519 | doi-access= }}{{cite web| editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | editor3-last=Rasmussen | editor3-first=Pamela | editor3-link=Pamela C. Rasmussen | date=August 2024 | title=Sylviid babblers, parrotbills, white-eyes | work=IOC World Bird List Version 14.2 | url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/sylvias/ | publisher=International Ornithologists' Union | access-date=7 September 2024 }}

Additionally, a study on Sri Lanka white-eyes (Zosterops ceylonensis) and Indian white-eyes (Zosterops palpebrosus) suggests that the Sri Lanka white-eye is the root species and the origin of all Zosterops species.{{Cite journal|last1=Wickramasinghe|first1=Nelum|last2=Robin|first2=V. V.| last3=Ramakrishnan| first3=Uma|last4=Reddy| first4=Sushma| last5=Seneviratne| first5=Sampath S.| date=2017 |title=Non-sister Sri Lankan white-eyes (genus Zosterops) are a result of independent colonizations|journal=PLOS ONE |volume=12|issue=8|pages=e0181441|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0181441|pmid=28792950|pmc=5549887|doi-access=free |bibcode=2017PLoSO..1281441W }} This raises questions upon the former theory of Southeast Asian origin.

=Species=

File:Zosterops atricapilla 2.jpg

File:Mauritius grey white-eye (Zosterops mauritianus).jpg]]

File:Mauritius olive white-eye (Zosterops chloronothos).jpg]]

There are over 100 species in the genus. This includes three species (denoted by a dagger † in the list below) that have become extinct since the 16th century.

References

{{Reflist}}

External links

{{Commons category}}

{{Wikispecies}}

{{EB1911 poster|Zosterops}}

  • [http://ibc.lynxeds.com/family/white-eyes-zosteropidae Zosterops photos & videos] on the Internet Bird Collection

{{Passerida|S.|state=collapsed}}

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Category:Bird genera

Category:Taxa named by Nicholas Aylward Vigors