Zosterops lateralis ( Latham, 1801 )

Andersen, Michael J., Fatdal, Lilly, Mauck III, William M. & Smith, Brian Tilston, 2017, An ornithological survey of Vanuatu on the islands of Éfaté, Malakula, Gaua, and Vanua Lava, Check List 13 (6), pp. 755-782 : 766

Zosterops lateralis ( Latham, 1801) , Silver-eye

Zosterops flavifrons ( Gmelin, 1789) , Yellow-fronted White-eye: Figure 4E

Yellow-fronted White-eye is a Vanuatu endemic ( Fig. 4E). It was among the most common birds we observed at all of our survey sites. On Éfaté and Malakula daily counts were from 15–25, whereas counts on Gaua and Vanua Lava ranged from 2–10. Indeed, the IUCN Red List status is Least Concern. Yellow-fronted White-eye was easily identified by its small size and uniformly green- ish-yellow plumage with bold white eye ring. Its only congener in Vanuatu, Silver-eye ( Z. lateralis ), has mostly white underparts with yellow restricted to the throat and undertail coverts. Seven subspecies of Z. flavifrons are described, of which we observed 4: Z. f. efatensis (Éfaté), Z. f. macgillivrayi (Malakula), Z. f. gauensis (Gaua), Z. f. perplexus (Vanua Lava). Specimens from all for survey sites showed evidence of breeding. For example, males had enlarged testes and seminal vesicles and some females had enlarged oviducts and were yolking. Birds on Éfaté comprised a major component of the dawn chorus, but vocal activity at dawn was subdued elsewhere. Most specimens showed no evidence of molt (only a few showed minimal body molt) and stomach contents were mostly small seeds and other plant matter.