White-spectacled warbler facts for kids
Quick facts for kids White-spectacled warbler |
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| From Khangchendzonga National Park, West Sikkim, India. | |
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Seicercus affinis (Moore, 1854) |
The white-spectacled warbler (Phylloscopus intermedius) is a small bird. It belongs to a group of birds called leaf warblers. You can find this bird in parts of Asia. Its home stretches from the eastern Himalayas all the way to south-eastern China and southern Vietnam.
These warblers love certain places to live. They prefer warm, wet lowland forests. They also live in moist montane forests, which are forests found on mountains.
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About the White-Spectacled Warbler
The white-spectacled warbler is known for its distinctive look. It has a clear white ring around its eyes. This "spectacle" gives the bird its name. Like other warblers, it is quite small. It moves quickly through the trees. These birds often sing to communicate. They have a unique song.
How This Bird Got Its Name
The white-spectacled warbler has had a few different scientific names. Scientists give every living thing a two-part scientific name. This is called a binomial name. It helps scientists around the world know exactly which species they are talking about.
In 1854, an English scientist named Frederic Moore first described a bird. He gave it the name Abrornis affinis. Later, in 1898, an Irish scientist named John David Digues La Touche described another bird. He called it Cryptolopha intermedia.
Scientists later realized these two birds were the same species. They were then grouped into a genus called Seicercus. A genus is a group of closely related species.
Why the Name Changed
In 2018, a special study looked at the DNA of these birds. This study showed that the Seicercus genus and another genus, Phylloscopus, were very closely related. To make things clearer, scientists decided to combine them. They merged both groups into the Phylloscopus genus.
When this happened, there was a rule to follow. The name Phylloscopus had been used first. Also, the name affinis was already being used for another bird. That bird was Tickell's leaf warbler. So, a new name, zosterops, was suggested. However, under the rules, the name intermedius had priority. This means intermedius became the main name for this species.
Different Types of White-Spectacled Warblers
Scientists recognize three different types, or subspecies, of the white-spectacled warbler:
- P. i. zosterops Elliott & del Hoyo, 2016 – You can find this type from the eastern Himalayas to south China, north Laos, and central Vietnam.
- P. i. intermedius (La Touche, 1898) – This type lives in central and southeast China.
- P. i. ocularis (Robinson & Kloss, 1919) – This type is found in south Vietnam.
