At the Taipei Botanical Garden, I noticed a crowd of photographers aiming their lenses at a single tree. Curious, I asked what they were capturing, and it turned out to be a White-eye. Although I had seen many photos of them before, seeing one with my own eyes for the first time was incredibly exciting.
As an amateur birdwatcher, identifying the exact species can be tricky. While they were historically called the Warbling White-eye (Zosterops japonicus), most populations in Taiwan and Southern China have recently been reclassified as Swinhoe’s White-eye (Zosterops simplex).
The genus name Zosterops comes from the Ancient Greek words zōstēros (belt) and ōpos (eye), perfectly describing the "belt" of white feathers around its eyes. It is a small passerine bird with olive-green upperparts and a bold, white eye-ring. Its throat and undertail coverts are a bright yellow, while its underside is a soft grayish-white.
The White-eye is a highly active bird that is rarely found on the ground, preferring to flit through the canopy.
They are a very gregarious species, often moving in large, chattering flocks. However, despite their social nature, they typically form monogamous relationships with their mates.
They are native to East China, Taiwan, Northern Vietnam, the Thai-Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, and Borneo.
在台北植物園，我看到一堆人拿著大炮相機對著一棵樹猛照。出於好奇，我問他們在拍什麼，結果發現是綠繡眼。雖然之前看過很多綠繡眼的照片，但第一次親眼目睹它的真面目，還是讓我無比興奮。
對於業餘觀鳥愛好者來說，準確辨識鳥類種類可能比較棘手。雖然它們歷史上被稱為日菲繡眼（Zosterops japonicus），但台灣和中國南方的大多數族群最近已被重新歸類為斯氏繡眼（Zosterops simplex）。
屬名 Zosterops 源自古希臘語 zōstēros（腰帶）和 ōpos（眼睛），恰如其分地描述了它眼睛周圍那一圈醒目的白色羽毛。這是一種小型雀形目繡眼鳥科鳥類，上身呈橄欖綠色，眼周有一圈醒目的白色眼圈。它的喉部和尾下覆羽呈亮黃色，腹面灰白，尾下覆羽黃色。中文俗稱綠繡眼、青笛仔、暗綠繡眼鳥、台灣綠繡眼。廣東人多稱其為相思仔。
繡眼一種非常活躍的鳥類，很少在地面上活動，更喜歡在樹冠間穿梭。
它們是一種群居性很強的物種，經常成群結隊地活動，嘰嘰喳喳地說個不停。然而，儘管它們具有群居性，但它們通常會與配偶建立一夫一妻制的關係。
它們分佈於中國東部、台灣、越南北部、泰馬來半島、蘇門答臘島及婆羅洲。
Notes 筆記
- The white-eye is a small passerine bird in the white-eye family Zosteropidae. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek words zōstēros meaning "belt" or "girdle" and ōpos meaning "eye". Swinhoe's white-eye (Zosterops simplex) was formerly treated as 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 promoted to species rank. It is mostly olive with the bold white-eyering.
- It is found in east China, Taiwan, north Vietnam, the Thai-Malay Peninsula, Sumatra and Borneo. Populations have also been introduced throughout Southern California.
- White-eye is active and rarely found on the ground. It is a very sociable species. While sociable, however, the white-eye typically forms monogamous relationships with mates – it has only one mate at any one time.
- The species is omnivorous, living on a diet of fruit from several species of flowering plants, various types of insects, and nectar at all levels of foliage.
- The white-eye is very adaptable to the green space environment created by humans, so bird watchers call it the "Three knights of the City" together with the Light-vented Bulbul and the Sparrow.
- Swinhoe's white-eye is the city bird of Kaohsiung City in the Republic of China.
- 繡眼是雀形目繡眼鳥科的一種鳥類。它的屬名是由古希臘語 zōstēros 「腰帶」的意思, 和 ōpos 「眼睛」的意思組合而成。斯氏繡眼（Zosterops simplex）以前被視為日菲繡眼（Zosterops japonicus）的一個亞種群，但根據 2018 年發表的分子系統發育研究結果，將其提升為種等級。中文俗稱綠繡眼、青笛仔、暗綠繡眼鳥、台灣綠繡眼。廣東人多稱其為相思仔。它主要是橄欖色，帶有明顯的白眼。
- 分佈於中國東部、台灣、越南北部、泰馬來半島、蘇門答臘島及婆羅洲。種群也被引入整個南加州。
- 繡眼很活躍，很少在地上。它是一個高度羣集的物種。雖然高度羣集，繡眼通常與配偶形成一夫一妻制的關係 (它在任何時候都只有一個配偶)。
- 這物種是雜食性的，以多種開花植物的果實、各種昆蟲和各級葉子的花蜜為食。
- 繡眼非常能適應人類營造的綠地環境，因此賞鳥人將他與白頭翁、麻雀併稱為「城市三俠」。
- 斯氏繡眼是中華民國高雄市的市鳥。
References 參考資料
- Wikipedia: Warbling white-eye
- Wikipedia: Swinhoe's white-eye
- birdfinding.info: Swinhoe’s White-eye
- 自然谷環境信託基地: 綠繡眼
- 維基百科: 斯氏繡眼
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