Wax-eye
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Zosteropidae
Genera: Zosterops
Species: lateralis
Scientific Name: Zosterops lateralis
Common Names: white–eye, wax–eye, silver-eye, blight bird, tauhou. pihipihi
12 cm, 13 g. Small green native bird with conspicuous white eye-ring. Head and upperparts olive green with grey back and wash on lower neck and onto breast; underparts creamy white with pinkish-brown flanks and white undertail. Sexes alike. Juvenile lacks eye-ring. Usually in small flocks, except when breeding. Readily attracted to bird tables in cold winters. Flight call from flocks an excited 'cli-cli-cli'; single birds give a plaintive 'creel. Song a melodious mix of warbles, trills and slurs. Habitat: Forests, scrub, orchards, parks and gardens. Breeding: Sep-Mar.
Waxeyes lay 3-4 eggs, pale blue, in a small nest of mosses and spiderwebs, which they build in shrubs and trees.
Early Maori use to preserve and eat them
Photos below are of an empty Waxeyes nest built of mosses, fibres and spiderwebs. These they build in shrubs and trees by binding the nest to the branches.
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