Mauritius grey white-eye

The Mauritius grey white-eye is a species of bird in the family Zosteropidae. It is one of two white-eye species endemic to the island of Mauritius, the other being the rare and localized Mauritius olive white-eye. It inhabits woodlands, forests, and gardens. The Réunion grey white-eye is very closely related. They were formerly considered conspecific and together called Mascarene white-eye.

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Distribution

Region

Mascarene Islands

Typical Environment

Endemic to the island of Mauritius, it occurs from coastal lowlands to upland forest. It occupies native evergreen forest, secondary woodland, thickets, and exotic plantations. The species is also common in rural areas, orchards, and suburban gardens, where it visits flowering shrubs and fruiting trees. It tolerates habitat fragmentation better than many island endemics and often persists along forest edges and in disturbed scrub.

Altitude Range

Sea level to 800 m

Climate Zone

Tropical

Characteristics

Size9–11 cm

Wing Span15–18 cm

Male Weight0.011 kg

Female Weight0.01 kg

Life Expectancy6 years

Ease of Keeping

Beginner friendly: 2/5

Useful to know

This small white-eye is abundant and adaptable across Mauritius, readily using native forest, scrub, and suburban gardens. It was formerly lumped with the Réunion grey white-eye but is now recognized as a separate species. Its conspicuous white eye-ring and busy, cooperative foraging make it easy to spot despite its size.

Gallery

Behaviour

Temperament

social and active

Flight Pattern

short rapid wingbeats

Social Behavior

Often travels in pairs or small, chattering groups, especially outside the breeding season. Builds a small cup nest in shrubs or trees; both parents participate in nest building and chick rearing. Frequently joins mixed-species flocks in forest edge habitats.

Migratory Pattern

Resident

Song Description

A high, rapid twitter of thin, tinkling notes interspersed with soft trills. Contact calls are sharp, metallic ‘tsip’ or ‘tzeet’ sounds delivered frequently while foraging.

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Identification

Leg Colorblackish-grey

Eye Colordark brown

Plumage

Neat, compact bird with grey to grey-brown upperparts and paler whitish underparts, sometimes with a faint olive wash on the flanks. Throat is pale and clean, contrasting subtly with the breast. Feathers are smooth and close-fitting, giving a tidy appearance.

Feeding Habits

Diet

Takes small insects and other arthropods gleaned from leaves and twigs. Also consumes nectar from flowering plants and soft fruits such as guavas and other garden fruit. Will hawk briefly for tiny flying insects and probe blossoms for nectar, sometimes getting dusted with pollen.

Preferred Environment

Feeds in the mid-story and canopy of forests, along edges, and in scrubby gardens. Regularly visits ornamental and native flowering shrubs as well as fruiting trees in cultivated areas.

Population

Total Known Populationunknown

Mauritius kestrel

The Mauritius kestrel is a bird of prey from the family Falconidae endemic to the forests of Mauritius, where it is restricted to the southwestern plateau's forests, cliffs, and ravines. It is the most distinct of the Indian Ocean kestrels. It colonized its island home to evolve into a distinct species probably during the Gelasian. It is the most distant living species among the western Indian Ocean kestrels.

Mauritius night heron

The Mauritius night heron is an extinct night heron species from Mauritius. It is only known by seven subfossil bone remains consisted of cranium, pelvis, coracoid, ulna, radius, and tarsometatarsus found in Mare aux Songes. Only the coracoid and the tarsometatarsus are left today. It was scientifically described in 1893 by Edward Newton and Hans Gadow from the University of Cambridge. Newton and Gadow measured the tarsometatarsus with 81 to 87 mm. It became presumedly extinct shortly after it was first mentioned by François Leguat in 1693 who described them as a "great flight of bitterns".

Mauritius scops owl

The Mauritius scops owl is an extinct species of scops owl that was endemic to the Mascarene island of Mauritius. It is known from a collection of subfossil bones from the Mare aux Songes swamp, a detailed sketch made by de Jossigny in 1770, a no less detailed description by Desjardins of a bird shot in 1836, and a number of brief reports about owls, the first being those of Van Westzanen in 1602 and Matelief in 1606. Other names for the species include Mauritius owl, Mauritius lizard owl, Commerson's owl, Sauzier's owl, or Newton's owl.

Mauritius sheldgoose

The Mauritius sheldgoose, also known as the Mauritius shelduck, is an extinct species of sheldgoose that was endemic to the island of Mauritius. While geese were mentioned by visitors to Mauritius in the 17th century, few details were provided by these accounts. In 1893, a carpometacarpus wing-bone and a pelvis from the Mare aux Songes swamp were used to name a new species of comb duck, Sarcidiornis mauritianus. These bones were connected to the contemporary accounts of geese and later determined to belong to a species related to the Egyptian goose and placed in the sheldgoose genus Alopochen. The Mauritius and Réunion sheldgoose may have descended from Egyptian geese that colonised the Mascarene Islands.