Silvereye
Zosterops lateralis (Latham, 1802)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
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. As an apparently self-introduced bird it is protected as a native New Zealand species. Its Māori name, tauhou, means "stranger" or more literally, "new arrival".
Wikipedia contributors, Silvereye; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T01:23:21.037266+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Zosterops lateralis (Latham, 1802)
- Name authority
- (Latham, 1802)
- Common name
- Silvereye
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Zosteropidae
- Genus
- Zosterops
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyZosteropidae Bonaparte, 1853
- genusZosterops Vigors & Horsfield, 1827
- speciesZosterops lateralis (Latham, 1802)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Zosterops. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Abyssinian White-eyeZosterops abyssinicus Guerin-Meneville, 1843 | ZosteropidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Black-ringed White-eyeZosterops anomalus A. B. Meyer & Wiglesworth, 1896 | ZosteropidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Black-crowned White-eyeZosterops atrifrons Wallace, 1864 | ZosteropidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Reunion Grey White-eyeZosterops borbonicus (J. R. Forster, 1781) | ZosteropidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Zosterops capensis Sundevall, 1850 | ZosteropidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Dusky White-eyeZosterops cinereus (Kittlitz, 1832) | ZosteropidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Zosterops citrinella Bonaparte, 1850 | ZosteropidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Bridled White-eyeZosterops conspicillatus (Kittlitz, 1833) | ZosteropidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Chestnut-flanked White-eyeZosterops erythropleurus Swinhoe, 1863 | ZosteropidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Zosterops feae Salvadori, 1901 | ZosteropidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Pearl-bellied White-eyeZosterops grayi Wallace, 1864 | ZosteropidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Japanese White-eyeZosterops japonicus Temminck & Schlegel, 1845 | ZosteropidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=563845 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:5D8MW. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.