Japanese White-Eye

Scientific name: Zosterope japonicus japonicus
Family: Zosteropidae
Order: Formes
Class: Aves

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS:

Japanese White-eyes, or Mejiros, are relatively small songbirds, they range between 4 to 4.5 inches. White-eyes have a slightly curved black bill extending from their yellow forehead. The name White-eye was given because of the silky white rings around the eyes. This distinctive feature is not always present in juveniles. The colors of the White-eyes back range from olive to dusky green, with blackish brown outlined in green covering the top of the tail and its flight feathers. The underside of the tail and the chin are both yellow. With the exception of a single band of smoke-gray, the throat is also yellow. The middle of the breast and belly are yellow white with the rest of the under parts pale brown. The feet and legs are black

DISTRIBUTION and HABITAT:

The White-eye is an easily tamable bird. It has a beautiful song and it is very sociable making it a favorite cage bird. Its reputation as a good pet spread across Japan and Korea but did not stop there. As its good reputation spread, so did the lovable and charming songbird. Today, it can also be found throughout the Indian region in places such as Pakistan, Ceylon, Burma, and the Philippines. In 1929, It was introduced to the island of Oahu from Japan by the Territorial Board of Agriculture and Forestry, then it was introduced to the island of Hawaii in 1937, and today inhabits all the Hawaiian Islands. The Mejiro is a highly adaptable bird and it is the most abundant passerine bird in the islands. When spotted in its natural settings the White-eye is often seen in flocks of 5 to 20 or more birds displaying their skills as acrobats, hanging upside down and in every orientation necessary to search for food. They are arboreal and their natural habitat is the foliage of trees and shrubs. They can be found from sea level to the tree lines of areas with less than 10 inches of annual rainfall and in rainforests with more than 300 inches of annual rainfall.

BEHAVIOR:

Japanese White-eyes are extremely energetic birds. Their personality is described as nervous because they are always on the move. The song of this bird can be heard from a great distance and this is often how they are found. Except in the nesting season, White-eyes stay in noisy flocks, which annoy some people, but delight others. This song, a bell like tzee or pseet, is often heard amongst bird lovers who use the birds in singing competitions. These birds social skills are another reason they are so loved as pets. Caged White-eyes are often observed to be more social than wild white eyes. For example, a group of five caged adult White-eyes have been noted to line up one behind the other and preen each other as to keep clean and free of unwanted pests, while adult wild White-eyes have never been seen preening another adult bird. In fact, wild Mejiros rarely take baths and when they do its by themselves. Captive White-eyes have also been seen resting close together, while wild White-eyes sleep alone on a tree branch or in the nest. White-eyes sense of teamwork is often displayed in the daytime when they team up with other small birds to scare off larger birds such as owls.

DIET:

The White-eye can often be found in the nooks and crannies of trees and shrubs searching for its favorite foods, insects, and nectar. This non-discriminating bird can be found throughout the day searching vigorously and with much patience to find insects of all shapes and sizes. Insects ranging from beetle and fly larvae to spiders are sought after as prey. The White-eye is a useful bird because it consumes large numbers of noxious insects and their larvae. Many times they are seen eating fruit, which is not only their favorite, but is also a source of insects. The White-eye likes the flesh of a ripe persimmon, as well as other fruit such as papaya, avocado, and the Chinese Banyan. The White-eye competes with native Honeycreepers for small berries and the sweet nectar of the Camellia and Cherry trees in bloom. The Mejiro serves as a great cross pollinator because of its frequent movements from tree to tree in search of food.

BREEDING and NESTING:

The White-eye is a territorial bird when nesting, therefore it rarely builds its nest in trees with other types of birds. Its breeding season is a long one ranging from February to December, but most breeding occurs from July to August. The nests can be found at various heights of all trees. The most common trees in which these birds nest, are the Koa Haole, and the Banyan. Nests are made of many different materials the birds find lying around such as grass, plant material, string, tin foil, leaves, mosses, and cobwebs or spider cocoons. They build a very neat nest, resembling a woven basket. The nest, is attached to the fork of a branch usually using spider webs. On the University of Hawaii's campus in Manoa, these nests are often lined with human hair. The Mejiro lays two to five pale blue eggs, which take about 11 days to incubate. Parental responsibility is shared by both the male and the female birds.

Wild Population:

The Japanese White-eye is the most common bird on the Hawaiian Islands. It is also common on the island of Japan and on island between Japan and Korea. The Japanese White-eye is not an endangered bird because of its adaptability and the length of its breeding season. It is known that the White-eye competes with the Honeycreepers for food, whether or not the competition is serious to the point that it endangers the Honeycreepers has not been determined.