white-eye
Americannoun
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white-eyes
plural
noun
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Also called (NZ): blighty, silvereye, tauhou, waxeye. any songbird of the family Zosteropidae of Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and Asia, having a greenish plumage with a white ring around each eye
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any of certain other birds having a white ring or patch around the eye
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of white-eye
First recorded in 1840–50
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The white-eye family includes about 100 species, but they’re mostly tropical, and none live anywhere near here.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 7, 2023
For the white-eye, a small olive bird with a beautiful white ring around its eye, our record is a significant range extension.
From New York Times ● Sep. 28, 2011
Nonetheless, during this short time we also documented the Louisiade white-eye and the large-billed gerygone, neither of which were expected in the Amphlet Group.
From New York Times ● Sep. 28, 2011
Kiko, a guide, with the team’s first Kolombangara white-eye.
From New York Times ● Oct. 15, 2010
At the breeding season the cock white-eye acquires an unusually sweet song.
From Birds of the Indian Hills by Douglas Dewar
An internet search identified them as Japanese white-eyes.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 7, 2023
Thus eye ring differences among white-eyes may drive reproductive isolation, and ultimately speciation, among island bird populations.
From New York Times ● Feb. 25, 2011
Another equally intriguing possibility, particularly for the white-eyes, is that eye rings may be signaling membership in a particular group or population.
From New York Times ● Feb. 25, 2011
Not all white-eyes have white eye rings, and not all eye rings are created equal.
From New York Times ● Feb. 25, 2011
The unique migration on the part of the white-eyes has not been satisfactorily accounted for.
From Austral English A dictionary of Australasian words, phrases and usages with those aboriginal-Australian and Maori words which have become incorporated in the language, and the commoner scientific words that have had their origin in Australasia by Edward Ellis Morris
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