Warbling White-eye (Zosterops japonicus) [XC411789]
by Gerbenth from Mount Kitanglad, Mindanao, Philippines (call)
Warbling White-eye (Zosterops japonicus) [XC797110]
by Bo Shunqi \u8584\u987a\u5947 from Miyakejima, Tokyo, Japan (call)
Subspecies
Forms a superspecies with Lowland White-eye (Zosterops meyeni) and Oriental White-eye (Zosterops palpebrosus), and sometimes considered conspecific with either or with both, but all appear orphologically distinct. Hybrids with Oriental White-eye (Zosterops palpebrosus) found in southern China and northern Vietnam. Sometimes northern subspecies batanis of Lowland White-eye (Zosterops meyeni) placed within present species. Affinity to Chestnut-flanked White-eye (Zosterops erythropleurus) unclear. Geographical variation possibly partly clinal, as northern subspecies large, dark and with somewhat brownish or buffy flanks, whereas smallest and brightest subspecies occur in south of range (Hainan I). Subspecies stejnegeri and alani interbreed in Bonin Is (where both were introduced) with hybrids named as boninsimae.
Other proposed subspecies are yesoensis (described from Muroran, on Hokkaido), which is synonymized with nominate, and, in southern Ryukyus, iriomotensis (from Iriomote) and yokakuni (Yonaguni-jima), which are subsumed in loochooensis.
The following 18 subspecies are recognised:
japonicus Temminck & Schlegel, 1847 - Southern Sakhalin I, Japan (including Sado, Oki, Tsushima, Iki, and Goto Is) and coastal southern Korean Peninsula.
insularis Ogawa, 1905 - Extreme northern Ryukyu I (Tanegashima
I, Yakushima I and Kume-jima).
loochooensis Tristram, 1889 - Ryukyu Is (except extreme
north) south to Yonaguni-jima.
daitoensis Kuroda, Nagamichi, 1923 - Borodino Is
(Kita-daito-jima and Minami-daito-jima).
alani Hartert, 1905 - Volcano Is (Kita-iwo,
Iwo-jima).
simplex Swinhoe, 1861 - Breeds eastern China (extreme southern Gansu
east to Jiangsu, south to Sichuan, eastern Yunnan, Guangxi, Guangdong and Fujian)
and Taiwan and extreme north-eastern Vietnam (eastern Tonkin). Non-breeding south-eastern China S
to Thailand and central Indochina. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Swinhoe's White-eye (Zosterops simplex). Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Swinhoe's White-eye (Zosterops simplex).
hainanus E. J. O. Hartert, 1923 - Hainan I. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Swinhoe's White-eye (Zosterops simplex).
obstinatus Hartert, 1900 - Ternate and Bacan (off Halmahera) and Seram. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Mountain White-eye (Zosterops montanus).
montanus Bonaparte, 1850 - Mountains in central Sumatra, Java (eastern from Mt Papandayan), Bali, Lesser Sundas (Lombok, Sumbawa, Flores, Timor), Sulawesi (including Taliabu, in Sula Archipelago) and southern Moluccas (Buru). Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Mountain White-eye (Zosterops montanus).
difficilis Robinson & Kloss, 1918 - Mt Dempo, in southern Sumatra. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Mountain White-eye (Zosterops montanus).
parkesi duPont, 1971 - Mountains of Palawan, in western Philippines. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Mountain White-eye (Zosterops montanus).
whiteheadi Hartert, 1903 - Highlands of northern Luzon, in northern Philippines. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Mountain White-eye (Zosterops montanus).
diuatae Salomonsen, 1953 - Northern and north-western Mindanao (Diuata Mts, Mt Malindang, Civolig, Daggayan, Misamis Oriental), in southern Philippines. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Mountain White-eye (Zosterops montanus).
vulcani Hartert, 1903 - Central Mindanao (Mt Kitanglad, Mt Apo). Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Mountain White-eye (Zosterops montanus).
pectoralis Mayr, 1945 - Negros (Canlaon Volcano, Cuernos de Negros), in west-central Philippines. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Mountain White-eye (Zosterops montanus).
halconensis Mearns, 1907 - Mindoro (north-central Philippines). Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Mountain White-eye (Zosterops montanus).
BirdLife International Species Factsheet