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To the Beauty of Birds

The Golden White-eye Cleptornis marchei is in the white-eye family Zosteropidae and is the only species within the genus Cleptornis. The Golden White-eye was once considered to be a honeyeater in the family Meliphagidae and although it is now known to be a white-eye, its position within that family is still uncertain. The species is restricted to the islands of Saipan and Aguijan in the northern Mariana Islands where it competes with the related Bridles white-eye. The Golden White-eye has golden plumage and a pale eye-ring. It feeds on insects, fruit, and nectar and forages in pairs or small family groups. The bird is monogamous and lays two eggs in a small cup nest. Despite its current abundance on Saipan and Aguijan, and the fact that it has among the highest recorded densities for any bird, it is nevertheless considered to be critically endangered being threatened by the invasive Brown Tree Snake, which has recently become established on Saipan. Since this predator is expected to cause a rapid decline in the population if not controlled efforts are under way to control the snakes and breed the white-eye in zoos.

These photos were taken at the Honolulu Zoo.
Those in the 29-312 series were taken at the Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville, TX.

Golden White-eye

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