The Swinhoe's white eye

A Swinhoe's white eye perches on a tree branch in Xiangmi Park in Futian District on Jan. 2, 2021. 

The Swinhoe’s white eye (Zosterops simplex) is one of the most beautiful birds in Shenzhen, and if I am not wrong about my memory, one of the first ones I spotted when I arrived in the city and definitely the one I found to be the most astonishing due to its evident beauty.

暗绿绣眼鸟是深圳最美丽的鸟类之一。如果没记错的话，早在刚来深圳的时候，我就被这种的漂亮的小鸟深深地吸引。

The Swinhoe’s white eye is a very small olive green and yellow bird with a white ring around the eyes. Both females and males are very similar, having an average size of 10 cm. The female has the ability to lay up to six eggs, but normally will lay four on a nest built usually by the female using grass, twigs, mosses and even spider webs. However, males can help in the building of nests and definitely helps in the process of incubation, which lasts around 10 days before the little chicks are ready to hatch.

暗绿绣眼鸟体型很小，体长约10厘米，体色黄绿，眼周有白色眼圈。雌雄外形相似，雌鸟使用草叶、树枝、苔藓、甚至蛛网等材料筑巢，通常每窝产4只卵，最多时6只，孵化期大约十天。雄鸟也会协助雌性筑巢孵卵。

A Swinhoe's white eye perches on a tree branch in Litchi Park in Futian District on Jan. 17, 2021.

These fascinating birds are seen jumping from branch to branch over any kind of vegetation and moving very fast from tree to tree looking for whatever comes their way to feed on. They can be seen feeding on fruits, buds, flowers, seeds and a variety of insects.

我们经常可以看到这种可爱的小鸟在枝头跳上跳下，并在林间飞来飞去，寻找食物。它们吃水果、花苞、花蜜、种子等植物性食物，也吃各种昆虫。

A Swinhoe's white eye perches on a tree branch along the Dongbao River in Bao'an District on Jan. 13, 2021.

White eyes are very abundant in Shenzhen and they are also distributed throughout most of Southeast Asia. It is an animal we can see and enjoy in basically every single corner of the city. Its presence is not limited to the mountains or the big parks, so people can easily enjoy the beauty of their chirping across the whole region, which also means it is our great responsibility to take care of every single corner of our city to keep providing a clean suitable space for every single species to thrive in our beautiful urban ecosystems.

暗绿绣眼鸟广泛分布于东南亚地区，在深圳也数量众多，随处可见。无论是在公园山林，还是寻常角落，你都可以发现它们叽叽喳喳的身影。因此我们更需要保护这座城市的环境，为居住在这里的物种提供干净、舒适的家园，让它们在我们美丽的城市生态系统中繁衍生息。