The Kauai nukupuu (''Hemignathus hanapepe'') was a species of nukupuʻu once found throughout parts 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 island of Kauai. It was an insect eater that picked out its tiny prey from tree bark. The males were yellowish with brown wings, while the females were grayish brown with a yellow throat streak.

Conservation

The species was abundant until the 19th century, when the loss of its lowland forests to

slash and burn Slash-and-burn agriculture is a farming method that involves the cutting and burning of plants in a forest or woodland to create a field called a swidden. The method begins by cutting down the trees and woody plants in an area. The downed veget ...

farming methods damaged its habitat. By 1889, this bird was very rare, though it could still be found in small flocks in the higher forests. The last confirmed sighting was in 1899; if the species survived after this time, it likely became confined to the Alakaʻi Wilderness Preserve. From 1984-1998, it was recorded several times in this area, but later analysis of these sightings indicates that almost all these observations were likely of

Kauaʻi ʻamakihi The Kauaʻi ʻamakihi (''Chlorodrepanis stejnegeri'') is a species of Hawaiian honeycreepers endemic to Kauaʻi in the family Fringillidae. The species Hawaiian name is associated with is Kihikihi, or kihi, which stems from the word amakihi. Kihik ...

(''Chlorodrepanis stejnegeri''). It was also feared that the winds from

Hurricane Iniki Hurricane Iniki ( ; Hawaiian: ''iniki'' meaning "strong and piercing wind") was the most powerful hurricane to strike Hawaii in recorded history. Forming on September 5, 1992, during the strong 1990–1995 El Niño, Iniki was one of eleven Cent ...

in 1992 could have created more damage to the bird's habitat. Intensive searches for this species throughout the 1990s were unsuccessful, although a single unconfirmed report was made in 2007. The species was likely already extinct by 1906, but the recency of some of the unconfirmed sightings indicates that the species should likely not be classified as extinct unless there is no doubt that it is. In September 2021, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed that the Kauaʻi nukupuʻu extinct, citing fruitless and extensive surveys.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from1=Q27075768, from2=Q5486437 Hemignathus Hawaiian honeycreepers Biota of Kauai Endemic birds of Hawaii Critically endangered fauna of Hawaii Birds described in 1889 Taxa named by Scott Barchard Wilson ESA endangered species