S p e c i e s o f t h e M o n t h
EXTINCT ?
Last collected in 1837.
Possible sighting of pair in 1892.
An unconfirmed sighting in 1937.
Three specimens exist one in
Berlin and two in Leyden.
Oahu Akialoa
Hemingnathus obscurus ellisianus
The following was written in 1944 by George Munro in Birds of Hawaii;
The plumage of this species is duller than that of the other Akialoas. At least the only specimen known to exist during the period Perkins was in the field showed this and he said the ones he saw:" I distinctly noticed the somber plumage of the upper parts..."
The Hawaii Akialoa was very similar to the Oahu species and was described as having a length of 6.5 inches with very long down curved , sickle shaped bills . The Oahu Akialoas were bark creepers , picking insect food from cracks and crevices in the bark of Ohia and Koa trees.
The birds most likely also obtained nectar from the flowers of Ohia and lobelia trees.
Munro writes; "In 1892, Perkins was sure he saw a pair of these birds. He was then familiar with the Hemignathus of the other islands. I quote from his journal:"On a very narrow part of the ridge a pair of green birds flew across in front of me one just behind and in pursuit of the other, which squeaked as it flew. This darted across the ridge and down the Nuuanu side, the other alighted in an Ohia bush on the ridge... On a number of days afterwards I hunted around Waolani but never again saw anything that could be mistaken for a Hemignathus."
The Oahu Akialoa was the first of the Hawaiian Akialoas to become extinct. Sadly, except for a few old museum specimens and a 100 year old journal description nothing else exists about this interesting species that once flew in the mountain forests of Oahu.
Please do what you can to save the native Hawaiian forest bird species that remain.
