Kauaʻi record · kba_bird_japanese_white_eye
Japanese White-eye
Zosterops japonicus
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About Japanese White-eye
Japanese White-eye (Zosterops japonicus) is recorded as a naturalized resident or reintroduced population on Kauaʻi in the Bishop Museum's 2017 island checklist. This is a documented island occurrence, not a claim of an individual sighting in 2026.
Kauaʻi evidence
Bishop Museum island checklist (version 2, 2017) lists Kauaʻi status N: naturalized resident or reintroduced population. See original island table. The record includes Kauaʻi-specific or clearly defined regional evidence appropriate to its stated occurrence status.
Occurrence evidence
bishop_island_checklist_2017
Names and classification
- Scientific name
- Zosterops japonicus
- Common names
- Japanese White-eye
- Family
- Zosteropidae
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Record type
- Species
Kauaʻi occurrence and status
- Kauaʻi occurrence
- Kauaʻi documented: naturalized resident or reintroduced population (2017 island checklist)
- Origin
- Introduced
- Conservation status
- Not assessed
- Evidence date
- 2026-09-13
- Evidence limits
- Island occurrence supported by the 2017 checklist; abundance and current year presence are not established here
Habitat and ecology
- Habitats
- Forest
- Food and resource needs
- Small passerine forager
- Reproduction
- Suitable nesting or roosting sites, seasonal food, and protection from disturbance and predators.
- Shelter
- Shelter and structure within forest.
Threats and conservation
- Threats
- Peer-reviewed Hawaiian evidence supports competition with native passerines · This must be scoped before applying to Kauai species-level management
- Conservation actions
- Pair abundance with native forest-bird condition, arthropod availability, malaria/vector layers, and site-specific competition studies
- Monitoring
- Track occurrence, abundance, habitat condition, breeding or seasonal use, and significant threats.
- Data gaps
- Update island status with dated contemporary records · Specific Kauaʻi habitat and abundance need local evidence
Process and seasonal context
- Seasonal timing
- Introduced Established Forest And Edge Species
- Seasonal description
- Japanese White-eye (Zosterops japonicus) is recorded as a naturalized resident or reintroduced population on Kauaʻi in the Bishop Museum's 2017 island checklist. This is a documented island occurrence, not a claim of an individual sighting in 2026.
Sources and further reading
- https://hawaiibirdingtrails.hawaii.gov/bird/japanese-white-eye/
- https://hawaiibirdingtrails.hawaii.gov/birding_hotspot/pihea-trail/
- https://www.usgs.gov/publications/interspecific-competition-among-hawaiian-forest-birds
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19765990/
- https://westernfieldornithologists.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Hawaiian_Islands_Bird_Checklist-Jan-2019.pdf
- https://hbs.bishopmuseum.org/birds/rlp-monograph/SEHIlist.htm