The Bishop's ‘ō‘ō or Molokai ‘ō‘ō (''Moho bishopi'') was the penultimate member of the extinct genus of the ‘ō‘ōs ('' Moho'') within the extinct family

Mohoidae Mohoidae, also known as the Hawaiian honeyeaters, is a family of Hawaiian species of recently extinct, nectarivorous songbirds in the genera '' Moho'' (ōō) and '' Chaetoptila'' (kioea). These now extinct birds form their own family, represent ...

. It was previously regarded as member of the Australo-Pacific honeyeaters (Meliphagidae).Fleischer R.C., James H.F., and Olson S.L. (2008). Convergent Evolution of Hawaiian and Australo-Pacific Honeyeaters from Distant Songbird Ancestors. Current Biology, Volume 18, Issue 24, 1927-1931, 11 December 2008.

Lionel Walter Rothschild Lionel Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild, Baron de Rothschild, (8 February 1868 – 27 August 1937) was a British banker, politician, zoologist and soldier, who was a member of the Rothschild family. As a Zionist leader, he was present ...

named it after

Charles Reed Bishop Charles Reed Bishop (January 25, 1822 – June 7, 1915) was an American businessman, politician, and philanthropist in Hawaii. Born in Glens Falls, New York, he sailed to Hawaii in 1846 at the age of 24, and made his home there, marrying into the ...

, the founder of the Bishop Museum.

Description

It was discovered in 1892 by Henry C. Palmer, a bird collector for Lord Rothschild. Its length was about 29 centimeters. The tail had reached a length of 10 centimeters. The plumage was general glossy black with yellow feather tufts on the maxillaries, beneath the wings and the undertail coverts. Their songs were simple two notes, ''took-took'', which could be heard for miles.

Distribution

It was

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to the montane forests of the

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

an islands of Molokai, Maui, and Lanai. Subfossil bone finds from Maui (on Mount Olinda at about 4,500 ft above sea level) are sometimes referred to in literature as the Maui ʻōʻō.

Ecology

Little is known about its ecology. It fed on nectar from the flowers of

Hawaiian lobelioids The Hawaiian lobelioids are a group of flowering plants in the bellflower family, Campanulaceae, subfamily Lobelioideae, all of which are endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. This is the largest plant radiation in the Hawaiian Islands, and indeed the ...

, much like other members of its family.

Extinction

Causes of the bird's extinction include deforestation, competition from introduced predators (such as the black rat), clearing of land for agriculture and livestock grazing, and diseases which were introduced by mosquitoes. It was last seen in 1904 by ornithologist George Campbell Munro. In 1915, Munro tried to verify reports of eventual sightings but he never found live individuals again.

Purported Maui Sightings

Reports of an O'o on Maui have been catalogued since 1828. In 1902, Henshaw reported seeing a bird matching the appearance of Bishop's O'o in the Olinda region. A spat of sightings of a bird with field marks and calls matching Bishop's O'o was reported in the 1980's from the Ko'olau Nature Reserve, most notably by Stephen R. Sabo in 1981. However, no specimen was ever captured or photographed in this region to confirm these reports. Subfossil remains of an O'o are known from Maui, so it is not implausible Bishop's O'o may have occurred here and evaded detection due to Maui being overlooked by 19th and 20th century collectors.

Specimens

Today the bird can only be seen as specimens, paintings, picture notes, and skins. Records of these types are known to be held in Bremen, Cambridge, Massachusetts;. Honolulu; London; Molokai, Hawaiian Islands; New York; and Stockholm.

References

External links

Fact Sheets Bishops OoSpecies factsheet
- BirdLife International {{DEFAULTSORT:Bishop's 'O'o Extinct birds of Hawaii Endemic birds of Hawaii Moho (genus) Bird extinctions since 1500 Birds described in 1893 Taxa named by Walter Rothschild Biota of Molokai