White-eyes and allies | Zosteropidae

Brilvogels | Anteojitos

The family does not belong here by nature: birds were released on the islands in the Pacific in the 1920s, and the species now occurs there in large numbers, from gardens at sea level up into mountain forest. The mark of the family is a closed ring of short white feathers around the eye, sharply set off against plain olive-green upperparts. The bill is fine, pointed and slightly decurved, and the tongue ends in a brush-like tip with which nectar is taken from flowers; small fruit and insects are eaten as well. They are thoroughly social: they move through the canopy in parties, keep in touch with a thin, continuous calling and preen each other's head feathers. The nest is a small, neatly woven cup slung in a fork. Members of this family have reached and populated remote island groups all over the world.