CreatureData

Abyssinian white-eye

Zosterops abyssinicus Guerin-Meneville, 1843

LCLeast Concernsongbirds

The abyssinian white-eye (Zosterops abyssinicus) is a species in the family Zosteropidae, order Passeriformes. Recorded adults weigh 7.8 g to 9.53 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Abyssinian white-eye (Zosterops abyssinicus)
Photo: Lip Kee from Singapore, Republic of Singapore · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the abyssinian white-eye

Weight
7.8 g – 9.53 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Invertivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
woodlandsrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
2.8 – 2.9src for Young per litter or clutch
Lifestyle
Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the abyssinian white-eye live?

Not recorded

What is the abyssinian white-eye?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The Abyssinian white-eye or white-breasted white-eye (Zosterops abyssinicus) is a small passerine bird belonging to the genus Zosterops in the white-eye family Zosteropidae. It is native to north-east Africa and the Southwestern Arabian foothills savanna.

It is 10–12 cm long. The upperparts are green; darker and greyer in northern races. There is a narrow white ring around the eye and a thin black line between the bill and eye. The underparts vary from pale yellow to greyish-white depending on the race. The bird has various twittering and buzzing calls.

In Africa it occurs from north-east Sudan south through Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somaliland and Kenya to north-east Tanzania. It is also found on Socotra Island. In Arabia it occurs in south-west Saudi Arabia, Yemen and southern Oman. It occurs in open woodland, scrub, wadis and gardens. It is found up to 1,800 metres above sea-level in Africa and 3,100 metres in Arabia. It usually forages among branches in trees but sometimes descends to ground-level. It feeds mainly on insects and will also take nectar from flowers.

From the Wikipedia article “Abyssinian white-eye” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Abyssinian_white-eye&oldid=1314206800), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the abyssinian white-eye endangered?

The abyssinian white-eye is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.

How is the abyssinian white-eye classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderPasseriformes
  5. familyZosteropidae
  6. genusZosterops
  7. SpeciesZosterops abyssinicus Guerin-Meneville, 1843
Other names and names in other languages (35)
  • ABWEEnglish
  • White-breasted white-eyeEnglish
  • White-breasted white-eyeEnglish
  • zostèrops d'EtiòpiaCatalan
  • kruhoočko etiopskéCzech
  • Etiopisk BrillefuglDanish
  • SomalibrillenvogelGerman
  • Somalia-BrillenvogelGerman
  • abisenia zosteropoEsperanto
  • Anteojitos abisinioSpanish
  • oliivirilliFinnish
  • Zostérops d'AbyssinieFrench
  • Zostérops à poitrine blancheFrench
  • Zostérops d’AbyssinieFrench
  • לבן-עין ערביHebrew
  • svijetla bjelookaCroatian
  • szomáli pápaszemesmadárHungarian
  • Occhialino pettobiancoItalian
  • シロハラメジロJapanese
  • abisininis baltavokisLithuanian
  • Abesīnijas baltactiņaLatvian
  • Somalische BrilvogelDutch
  • sitronbrillefuglNorwegian
  • szlarnik sawannowyPolish
  • olho-branco-abissínioPortuguese
  • olho-branco-da-abissíniaPortuguese
  • Эфиопская белоглазкаRussian
  • Сомалийская белоглазкаRussian
  • okánik žltobokýSlovak
  • Abisinijska belookaSerbian
  • abessinglasögonfågelSwedish
  • Habeş GözlükçüsüTurkish
  • окулярник абісинськийUkrainian
  • 白胸繡眼Chinese
  • 白胸绣眼鸟Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the abyssinian white-eye

Other species in the same genus Zosterops.

LC, Least Concern

Silvereye

Zosterops lateralis

ZosteropidaeNo free photo yet

CompareAbyssinian white-eye vs Indian white-eyeAbyssinian white-eye vs SilvereyeAbyssinian white-eye vs Warbling white-eyeAbyssinian white-eye vs Mauritius olive white-eye

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the abyssinian white-eye?

An adult abyssinian white-eye weighs 7.8 g – 9.53 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the abyssinian white-eye endangered?

The abyssinian white-eye is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

What kind of animal is the abyssinian white-eye?

The abyssinian white-eye (Zosterops abyssinicus) belongs to the family Zosteropidae in the order Passeriformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Abyssinian white-eye (Zosterops abyssinicus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/abyssinian-white-eye

MLA

“Abyssinian white-eye (Zosterops abyssinicus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/abyssinian-white-eye.

BibTeX
@misc{abyssinian_white_eye_2026,
  title = {Abyssinian white-eye (Zosterops abyssinicus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/abyssinian-white-eye},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}