S p e c i e s o f t h e M o n t h
EXTINCT
Last collected in 1846
Last sighting - 1893
Oahu O'u
Psittirostra psittacea
The adult male 'o'u has a gamboge-yellow head and neck, all the rest of the upper parts olive-green inclining to yellow on the rump; whole of the under surface greenish yellow with the exception of the breast, which is grey; remiges and rectrices dusky brown margined with olive-green; irides dark hazel; feet pinkish, and bill pinkish to straw-colored. The adult female's head and neck is olive-green above and grey beneath; the rest of the under surface is greyish white; under tail-coverts are pure white. Rothschild also described the 'o'u from O'ahu, which he called the Honolulu ou, as Psittirostra olivacea, noting Psittina olivacea Lichtenstein 1854.
All authors acknowledge that ie'ie (Freycinetia arborea) fruit and flowers were a favorite food of the 'o'u. The large female inflorescence was its favorite, but it also fed on the male flowers, and the red leaf-bracts which surround these. It also, to a lesser degree, eats the fruits of several other trees, and in forests above the range of the ie'ie vine it is partial to the berries of arborescent Lobeliaceae, especially the large yellow Clermontia. The fruit of the introduced guava (Psidium spp.) is taken, as well as other foreign wild fruits. The nectar of o'hi'a flowers is used by the 'o'u. The 'o'u feeds its young largely with caterpillars, especially those of Geometridae. Other foods reported are: wild mulberry; mamaki berries (Pipturus albidus), alanai ('alani) = orange (Citrus sinensis), kopiko (Psychotria spp.), kawau (Ilex anomala), bananas (Musa xparadisiaca), peaches (Prunus persica), insects (11); tender leaves of trees, e.g. lapalapa (Cheirodendron spp.) o'hi'a ai, or mountain apple (Eugenia malaccensis); and olana (Touchardia latifolia), opuhe (Urera spp.)
The 'o'u was common on all of the six main Hawaiian Islands of Kaua'i, O'ahu, Moloka'i, Lana'i, Maui, and Hawai'i. The 'o'u was last collected on O'ahu in 1846, and possibly last seen by Perkins in 1893 . Bryan collected 16 'o'u on Moloka'i in 1907, and Munro collected four in 1907; it probably has not been seen since . It was last collected on Lana'i in 1927, and was presumed extinct there about 1932 . Seven specimens of 'o'u were collected on Maui in 1901, and that was the last report from Maui . Extremeley small populations might still exist on Kaua'i and Hawai'i, in a limited portion of its former range but they are most likely extinct. One reason that the 'o'u remained common while numerous other species were becoming extinct, was their power of flight, which carried them from island to island.
The Oahu O'u has not been seen for over 100 years .
Please do what you can to save the native Hawaiian forest bird species that remain.
