Habits
Singly, in pairs or small flocks of from 10 - 50.
Food
Invertebrates, nectar, fruit and seeds.
Voice
A strong, pleasant, sweet, tuneful and varied, with musical or melodious warbling, piping and trills. A high-pitched, plaintive 'mew', 'zee' or 'zeep' contact call. Also high-pitched rapid note calls.
Canary White-eye (Zosterops luteus) [XC720400]
by James Lambert from Broome Bird Observatory - Malurus Trail, Shire of Broome, Western Australia, Australia (uncertain)
Canary White-eye (Zosterops luteus) [XC646141]
by James Lambert from Charles Darwin University, Darwin Municipality, Northern Territory, Australia (begging call)
luteus Gould, 1843 - Coastal northern Australia from northern Kimberley District east, including coastal islands of Melville, Bickerton, Groote Eylandt and Sir Edward Pellew Group, to western Cape York Peninsula (Edward R); isolated population in eastern Queensland (region of Ayr-mouth of Burdekin R).
balstoni Ogilvie-Grant, 1909 - Coastal north-western Australia from Shark Bay (including Dirk HartogI) east to Wotjulum (King Sound) and northern Kimberley District.
Similar Species
Silvereye (Zosterops lateralis) which has pale-grey underparts with brown or rufous flanks, and lacks a bright yellow frontal band.
Compare Images
The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9
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BirdLife International Species Factsheet