The chestnut-flanked white-eye (''Zosterops erythropleurus'') is a

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

in the family

Zosteropidae The white-eyes are a family, Zosteropidae, of small passerine birds native to tropical, subtropical and temperate Sub-Saharan Africa, southern and eastern Asia, and Australasia. White-eyes inhabit most tropical islands in the Indian Ocean, the ...

. The

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

was first described by

Robert Swinhoe Robert Swinhoe FRS (1 September 1836 – 28 October 1877) was an English diplomat and naturalist who worked as a Consul in Qing-era Taiwan (then known to Westerners as Formosa). He catalogued many Southeast Asian birds, and several, such as ...

in 1863. It is found in forests, and prefers rather deep mixed and coniferous forests.

Description

It is 10.5 cm in length and has a distinct chestnut patch on its flanks. The bill base and lower mandible may be pinkish. Its underparts are whiter. The similar

Japanese white-eye The Japanese white-eye (''Zosterops japonicus'') is a former species designation of birds in the white-eye family. Since 2018, it has been divided into two species: * Swinhoe's white-eye, ''Zosterops simplex'' * Warbling white-eye The warbling w ...

is pale brown on its flanks.

Distribution and habitat

It is migratory, breeding in

Manchuria Manchuria is a historical region in northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day northeast China and parts of the modern-day Russian Far East south of the Uda (Khabarovsk Krai), Uda River and the Tukuringra-Dzhagdy Ranges. The exact ...

and migrating to central China, the province of

Yunnan Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...

and northern

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

in the winter. It is the most migratory species of white-eye. It breeds in poplar, alder and willow forests, thickets and groves, and winters in deciduous and evergreen forests, usually above 1000 m.

References

chestnut-flanked white-eye Birds of Manchuria chestnut-flanked white-eye Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxa named by Robert Swinhoe {{Zosteropidae-stub