29 January 2016

Waxeye on the Tunupo Track

As kids, we knew these little birds as waxeyes, and Mum used to put out fat for them. She had a particular fondness for them and went to some lengths to make sure the food she left wouldn't be cleaned up by larger, pushier birds like starlings.

I photographed this one — part of a small flock — on the Tunupo Track  in the Ruahine Range just over a fortnight ago.

The more usual common name among the bird people is 'silvereye'. If you want to be exact, the scientific name is Zosterops lateralis ssp. lateralis, but that's too much of a mouthful for me. I think I'll stick with 'waxeye'.



All content © 2016 Pete McGregor
at

3 comments:

  1. Elephant's Child29 January 2016 at 20:44

    Silvereyes were always the first to our fig tree. The rotten so and so's hollowed them out, and moved on to the next.
    I still have a soft sport for them though. (Now that I no longer have a fig tree.)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Barbara Butler McCoy31 January 2016 at 02:08

    Oh my! Forgive me for gushing, please, but this little one is such a sweetheart. I've been watching the robins out my back window this week ,and some smaller birds I cannot identify, so this continues a lovely theme. Gorgeous photo-the details and the colors are wonderful. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  3. pohanginapete31 January 2016 at 07:16

    EC, the grape-growers and orchardists here consider them a pest. On the other hand they do eat insects, some of which are pests, and they disperse seeds, although some of those are weed seeds. I'm happy just to enjoy them :-)

    Barbara, that's a perfectly understandable reaction :-) Glad you have birds you can watch from your window; I do too, and I never tire of it.

    ReplyDelete

Constructive criticism is welcomed (I particularly appreciate thoughts on what you like and don't like), but please keep it courteous.