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Short Note

Is the Cape White-eye Zosterops virens or Zosterops capensis?


Lindy J Thompson
Barry Taylor

Abstract

The recent scientific literature employs three binomial names for the southern African endemic bird known as the Cape White-eye: Zosterops capensis, Z. pallidus and Z. virens. This unacceptable inconsistency reflects the contention regarding white-eye systematics. Recent molecular work by Oatley and colleagues led to the suggestion that Z. virens and Z. capensis should both fall under the name Z. virens. We urge ornithologists to adopt this convention, and we encourage further molecular stud ies in order to clarify the taxonomy of southern African white-eyes.

Keywords: Cape White-eye, Zosteropidae, Zosterops capensis, Zosterops pallidus, Zosterops virens

OSTRICH 2014, 85(2): 197–199

Journal Identifiers


eISSN: 1727-947X
print ISSN: 0030-6525