Fiji White-eye
Zosterops explorator E. L. Layard, 1875
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.
Layard's white-eye (Zosterops explorator) at De Voeux Peak on Taveuni, Fiji Isles
Aviceda · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Fiji white-eye (Zosterops explorator) is a species of passerine bird in the white-eye family Zosteropidae. The species is also known as Layard's white-eye.
It is endemic to the islands of Viti Levu, Vanua Levu, Taveuni, Kadavu, and Ovalau in Fiji, where it is a common bird of forests. Where it co-occurs with the closely related silvereye it is more common in denser forest.
It is a typical small white-eye of the genus Zosterops, similar in appearance to the silvereye, although the plumage is much yellower, it is chunkier and has a complete eye-ring. The back is olive green and the throat and belly yellow. The call is described as "a high pitched seeu-seeu".
The Fiji white-eye feeds by gleaning insects from shrubs and trees. It will join mixed-species feeding flocks with other Fijian birds, including silvereyes. It also feeds lower down in the trees than silvereyes.
Wikipedia contributors, Fiji white-eye; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T04:01:13.874938+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Zosterops explorator E. L. Layard, 1875
- Name authority
- E. L. Layard, 1875
- Common name
- Fiji White-eye
- 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 explorator E. L. Layard, 1875
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=563831 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.
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:7GGS3. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.