Birds Guide

Hawaiian Honeycreeper
Maui Parrotbill, Pseudonestor xanthophrys
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia   Phylum: Chordata   Class: Aves   Order: Passeriformes   Family: Drepanididae Cabanis, 1847
Genera
Telespiza Psittirostra (extinct?) Dysmorodrepanis (extinct) Loxioides Rhodacanthis (extinct) Chloridops (extinct) Orthiospiza (extinct) Xestospiza (extinct) Pseudonestor Hemignathus Magumma (disputed) Akialoa (disputed; extinct) Heterorhynchus (disputed) Oreomystis Paroreomyza Vangulifer (extinct) Aidemedia (extinct) Loxops Ciridops (extinct) Vestiaria Drepanis (extinct) Palmeria Himatione Melamprosops (extinct?)

Hawaiian honeycreepers are small passerine birds endemic to Hawaiʻi. Some authorities categorize this group as the subfamily Drepanidinae of the finch family Fringillidae, to which they are closely related, but they are usually given full family status as the Drepanididae.

The family is divided into three tribes

• Psittirostrini (Hawaiian finches), seedeaters with thick finch-like bills and songs like those of cardueline finches.
• Hemignathini (Hawaiian creepers and allies, including nukupuʻus). These are generally green-plumaged birds with thin bills which feed on nectar and insects
• Drepanidini (Mamos, ‘I‘iwi and allies). These are birds often with red plumage. They are nectar-feeders and their songs contain nasal squeaks and whistles.

Some unusual forms extinct in earlier times, like Xestospiza or Vangulifer, cannot easily be placed into these tribes.

The male Hawaiian Honeycreepers are often more brightly coloured than the females, but in the Hemignathini, they often look very similar. The flowers of the native plant Metrosideros polymorpha (‘ohi‘a lehua) are favoured by a number of nectar-eating honeycreepers.

The wide range of bills in this group, from thick finch-like bills to slender downcurved bills for probing flowers have arisen through adaptive radiation, where an ancestral finch has evolved to fill a large number of ecological niches. Some 15 forms of Hawaiian Honeycreeper have become extinct in the recent past, many more since the arrival of the Polynesians who introduced the first rats. The recent extinctions are due to the introduction of other rodent species and the mongoose, habitat destruction and avian malaria and fowlpox.

Species

• Family: Drepanididae (or: Drepaniidae)
  • Genus: Telespiza - finch-like, granivores, opportunistic scavengers
    • Nihoa Finch, Telespiza ultima
      Laysan Finch, Telespiza cantans
      Kaua‘i Finch, Telespiza persecutrix Conservation status: Prehistoric
      Maui Nui Finch, Telespiza ypsilon Conservation status: Prehistoric
  • Genus: Psittirostra - slightly hooked bill, ‘Ie‘ie fruit specialist
    • ‘O‘u, Psittirostra psittacea Conservation status: Critical, probably extinct late 1990s
  • Genus: Dysmorodrepanis - pincer-like bill, possibly snail specialist
    • Lana‘i Hookbill, Dysmorodrepanis munroi Conservation status: Extinct (1918)
  • Genus: Loxioides - finch-like, Mamane seed specialist (L. bailleui)
    • Palila, Loxioides bailleui
    • Kauaʻi Palila, Loxioides kikuichi Conservation status: Prehistoric
  • Genus: Rhodacanthis - finch-like, Koa seed specialists
    • Lesser Koa Finch, Rhodacanthis flaviceps Conservation status: Extinct (1891)
    • Greater Koa Finch, Rhodacanthis palmeri Conservation status: Extinct (1896)
    • Scissor-billed Koa Finch, Rhodacanthis forfex Conservation status: Prehistoric
    • Primitive Koa Finch, Rhodacanthis litotes Conservation status: Prehistoric
  • Genus: Chloridops - thick-billed, Naio and other hard seed specialist
    • Kona Grosbeak Finch, Chloridops kona Conservation status: Extinct (1894)
    • O‘ahu Grosbeak Finch, Chloridops wahi Conservation status: Prehistoric
    • Giant ("King Kong") Grosbeak Finch, Chloridops regiskongi Conservation status: Prehistoric
  • Genus: Orthiospiza - large weak bill, possibly soft seed or fruit specialist?
    • Highland Finch, Orthiospiza howarthi Conservation status: Prehistoric
  • Genus: Xestospiza - cone-shaped bills, possibly insectivores
    • Cone-billed Finch, Xestospiza conica Conservation status: Prehistoric
    • Ridge-billed Finch, Xestospiza fastigialis Conservation status: Prehistoric
  • Genus: Peseudonestor - parrot-like bill, probes rotting wood for insect larvae
    • Maui Parrotbill, Pseudonestor xanthophrys
  • Genus: Hemignathus - pointed or long and decurved bills, insectivores or nectarivores
    • Hawai‘i ‘Amakihi, Hemignathus virens
    • O‘ahu ‘Amakihi, Hemignathus flavus
    • Kaua‘i ‘Amakihi, Hemignathus kauaiensis
    • Nukupu‘u, Hemignathus lucidus
    • ‘Anianiau, Hemignathus parvus or Magumma parva
    • Greater ‘Amakihi, Hemignathus sagittirostris Conservation status: Extinct (1901)
    • Giant ‘Amakihi, Hemignathus vorpalis Conservation status: Prehistoric
    • Hawai‘i ‘Akialoa, Hemignathus obscurus or Akialoa obscura Conservation status: Extinct (1940)
    • Maui Nui ‘Akialoa, Hemignathus lanaiensis or Akialoa lanaiensis Conservation status: Extinct (1892)
    • O‘ahu ‘Akialoa, Hemignathus ellisianus or Akialoa ellisiana Conservation status: Extinct (1940)
    • Kaua‘i ‘Akialoa, Hemignathus stejnegeri or Akialoa stejnegeri Conservation status: Extinct (1969)
    • Hoopoe-billed ‘Akialoa, Hemignathus upupirostris or Akialoa upupirostris Conservation status: Prehistoric
    • ‘Akiapola‘au, Hemignathus munroi or Heterorhynchus wilsoni
  • Genus: Oreomystis - short pointed bills, browsers
    • ‘Akikiki, Oreomystis bairdi
    • Hawai‘i "Creeper", Oreomystis mana
  • Genus: Paroreomyza - similar to Oreomystis
    • Maui ‘Alauahio, Paroreomyza montana (more properly called Maui Nui ‘Alauahio, but today occurs on Maui only)
    • Kakawahie, Paroreomyza flammea Conservation status: Extinct (1963)
    • O‘ahu ‘Alauahio, Paroreomyza maculata
  • Genus: Vangulifer - flat rounded bills, possibly caught flying insects
    • Strange-billed Finch, Vangulifer mirandus Conservation status: Prehistoric
    • Thin-billed Finch, Vangulifer neophasis Conservation status: Prehistoric
  • Genus: Aidemedia - straight thin bills, insectivores
    • O‘ahu Icterid-like Gaper, Aidemedia chascax Conservation status: Prehistoric
    • Sickle-billed Gaper, Aidemedia zanclops Conservation status: Prehistoric
    • Maui Nui Icterid-like Gaper, Aidemedia lutetiae Conservation status: Prehistoric
  • Genus: Loxops - small pointed bills with the tips offset a little horizontally, insectivores
    • ‘Akeke‘e, Loxops caeruleirostris
    • Akepa, Loxops coccineus
  • Genus: Ciridops - finch-like, fed on Loulu fruits etc.
    • ‘Ula-‘ai-Hawane, Ciridops anna Conservation status: Extinct (1892 or 1937)
    • Stout-legged Finch, Ciridops tenax Conservation status: Prehistoric
  • Genus: Vestiaria - decurved bill, nectarivore
    • ‘I‘iwi, Vestiaria coccinea
  • Genus: Drepanis - decurved bills, nectarivores
    • Hawai‘i Mamo, Drepanis pacifica Conservation status: Extinct (1898)
    • Black Mamo, Drepanis funerea Conservation status: Extinct (1907)
  • Genus: Palmeria - thin bill, nectarivore, especially ʻOhiʻa
    • ‘Akohekohe, Palmeria dolei
  • Genus: Himatione - thin bill, nectarivore
    • ‘Apapane, Himatione sanguinea
  • Genus: Melamprosops - short pointed bill, browser and snail specialist
    • Po‘o-uli, Melamprosops phaeosoma Conservation status: Critical, probably extinct November 28, 2004

Several other known species are undescribed, as they are known only from very fragmentary fossil remains insufficient to deterine taxonomic affiliation. The term "prehistoric" above indicates birds that went extinct between first human settlement of Hawai‘i around 400 AD and European contact in 1778.

External links

• Hawaiian Honeycreeper videos on the Internet Bird Collection