Cape White-eye
Zosterops virens
The Cape White-eye (Zosterops virens) is a common white-eyes, yuhinas, and alli found in 6 countries, weighing about 11 g. The Cape white-eye is a small passerine bird in the white-eye family.
About the Cape White-eye
The Cape white-eye is a small passerine bird in the white-eye family. It is native to southern Africa. It is commonly found in suburbia, parks and gardens, besides a variety of mesic to well-watered habitats.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to identify it
This species is about 12 cm long with rounded wings, strong legs, and a conspicuous ring of white feathers round the eyes. The upperparts are green, and the throat and vent are bright yellow. The members of the Z. v. capensis has a grey breast and belly, whereas Z. v. virens has a greenish-yellow breast and belly. They are very vocal, and constantly keep in touch with soft trilled pee, pree or pirreee call notes.
Where it lives
When to see it
The Cape White-eye can be seen all year round, with peak activity in October. It is a resident species across most of its range.
Easily confused with
Quick questions
- How do you identify a Cape White-eye?
- This species is about 12 cm long with rounded wings, strong legs, and a conspicuous ring of white feathers round the eyes. Full identification notes are on this page.
- How big is a Cape White-eye?
- The Cape White-eye is a tiny sized bird weighing about 11 g.
- Where can you see a Cape White-eye?
- The Cape White-eye occurs in 6 countries, including South Africa, Eswatini, Lesotho, Botswana and Mozambique.
- What birds look similar to a Cape White-eye?
- The Cape White-eye is most easily confused with the Warbling White-eye, the Indian White-eye and the Orange River White-eye.
- Is the Cape White-eye endangered?
- The Cape White-eye is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
Learn the Cape White-eye for real
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