Silvereye
Photo: BIHNZ · CC BY 4.0

White-eyes, Yuhinas, and Allies

Silvereye

Zosterops lateralis

LCLeast Concern
Family
White-eyes, Yuhinas, and Allies (Zosteropidae)
Order
Passeriformes

Overview

The silvereye or wax-eye (Zosterops lateralis), also known by its Māori name tauhou, is a very small omnivorous passerine bird of the south-west Pacific. In Australia and New Zealand its common name is sometimes white-eye, but this name is more commonly used to refer to all members of the genus Zosterops, or the entire family Zosteropidae.
In New Zealand, the silvereye was first recorded in 1832. It arrived in greater numbers in 1856, and it is assumed that a migrating flock was swept eastwards by a storm.

Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Range and habitat

Sources and further reading

Last updated September 29, 2026.