The Hawaii ōō (''Moho nobilis'') is a member of the extinct genus of the ōōs (''
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'').
Description
The Hawaii ōō was first described by
Blasius Merrem in 1786. It had an overall length of , wing length of , and tail length of up to . The colour of its plumage was glossy black with a brown shading at the belly. It was further characterized by yellowish tufts at the axillaries. It had some yellowish plumes on its rump, but lacked yellow thigh feathers like the
Bishop's ʻōʻō
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. It was previously regarded as member of the Australo-Pacific honey ...
, and also lacked the whitish edgings on its tail feathers like the
Oʻahu ʻōʻō. It had the largest yellow plumes on its wings out of all the species of
ōō. The name of the cinder cone
Puʻu ʻŌʻō
Puu Ōō (also spelled Pu‘u‘ō‘ō, and often written Puu Oo, , ) is a volcanic cone on the eastern rift zone of Kīlauea volcano in the Hawaiian Islands. The eruption that created Puu Ōō began on January 3, 1983, and continued nearly c ...
is often translated as "Hill of the Ōō-Bird", referring to this species.
Extinction
At the time of the arrival by Europeans, it was still relatively common on the Big Island, but its decline followed rapidly afterwards. Its striking plumage was already used for ''aahu alii'' (robes), ''
ahu ula'' (capes), and ''
kāhili
A ''kāhili'' is a symbol of the aliʻi chiefs and families of the Hawaiian Islands. It was taken by the Kamehamehas as a Hawaiian royal standard and used by the Royal Families to indicate their lineage.
History
The ''kāhili'' has long been ...
'' (feathered staffs) of ''
alii'' (Hawaiian
nobility
Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The character ...
) by
Native Hawaiians; they captured the Hawaii ōō, carefully plucking its feathers a few at a time, before releasing the live bird back into the wild. Europeans also saw the striking beauty of the bird, but collected its feathers in a lethal manner, hunting many of them for specimens in personal collections. Some were even caught and put in cages to be sold as songbirds, only to live for a few days or weeks before diseases from
mosquito
Mosquitoes (or mosquitos) are members of a group of almost 3,600 species of small flies within the family Culicidae (from the Latin ''culex'' meaning " gnat"). The word "mosquito" (formed by ''mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish for "li ...
es befell them. The decline of this bird was hastened by both natives and Europeans by the introduction of the
musket, which allowed hunters and collectors to shoot birds down from a distance, from great heights, and in great numbers. As late as 1898, hunters were still able to kill over a thousand individuals in one hunt, but after that year, the Hawaii ōō population declined rapidly.
[Henshaw, HW (1902) ]
Birds of the Hawaiian Islands
', p. 71. The birds became too rare to be shot in any great quantities, but continued to be found for nearly 30 years.
Despite records of mass hunting, collection seemed to only play a minor role in the species' extinction, and mosquito-borne diseases and deforestation probably were the major reasons for its extinction (very similar to the other members of its genus). The last known sighting was in 1934 on the slopes of
Mauna Loa
Mauna Loa ( or ; Hawaiian: ; en, Long Mountain) is one of five volcanoes that form the Island of Hawaii in the U.S. state of Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean. The largest subaerial volcano (as opposed to subaqueous volcanoes) in both mass and ...
.
See also
*
Kauai ʻoʻo
*
Oahu ʻoʻo
*
Bishop's ʻoʻo
References
External links
3D view of specimens RMNH 110.044 and RMNH 110.045 (formerly RMNH 2142) at
Naturalis, Leiden (requires
QuickTime browser plugin).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hawaii Oo
Endemic birds of Hawaii
Extinct birds of Hawaii
Moho (genus)
Bird extinctions since 1500
Birds described in 1786
Taxa named by Blasius Merrem