Animalia Life
Zosterops pallidus
TAXONOMY
Zosterops pallidus Swainson, 1838, Rustenburg, Transvaal, South
Africa. Seven subspecies.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
English: African pale white-eye, pale white-eye; French:
Zostйrops du Cap; German: Kapbrillenvogel; Spanish: Ojiblanco
Pбlido.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Length, 3.9–5.1 in (10–13 cm); weight, 0.28–0.53 oz (8–15 g);
wing, 2.0–2.7 in (52–68 mm); tail, 1.6–2.2 in (40–56 mm); tarsus,
0.6–0.8 in (15–20 mm); culmen, 0.4–0.6 in (9–15 mm).
Underparts gray, upperparts pale green.
DISTRIBUTION
Southern Africa to Ethiopia.
HABITAT
Forests, woodlands, savanna, exotic plantations, and suburban
gardens.
BEHAVIOR
Some migrate while others remain sedentary. Readily come to
bird feeders.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Feed on insects, spiders, soft fruit, berries, nectar.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Nests at the start and end of the monsoon season, with a peak
between September and December. Two to three eggs per
clutch, incubated for 11–12 days, and nestlings fed for 12–13
days.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Not threatened. Abundant in woods and suburban areas.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
A popular species among the bird banders of southern Africa.
Band recoveries have begun to demonstrate the complex nature
of movements, molt patterns, and longevity.
Photo Gallery of - Cape white-eye
