The Oʻahu ʻakepa (''Loxops wolstenholmei'') is an extinct species of

ʻakepa ''Loxops'' is a Hawaiian honeycreeper genus in the finch family, Fringillidae. Most of them are commonly known as akepa. Taxonomy There are 5 species in this genus, two of which are recently extinct or possibly extinct: * Akekee or Kauai akepa ...

that 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 island of

Oahu Oahu () ( Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over two-thirds of the population of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The island of O� ...

. It was commonly sighted throughout the 19th century. This brick red

Hawaiian honeycreeper Hawaiian honeycreepers are a group of small, passerine birds endemic to Hawaii. They are closely related to the rosefinches in the genus ''Carpodacus'', but many species have evolved features unlike those present in any other finch. Their great ...

was found in the mountain peaks in densely forested areas. The females were mostly gray with a tinge of green. The birds had a slight crossbill just like the other ''

Loxops ''Loxops'' is a Hawaiian honeycreeper genus in the finch family (biology), family, Fringillidae. Most of them are commonly known as akepa. Taxonomy There are 5 species in this genus, two of which are recently extinct or possibly extinct: * ‘A ...

'' species. It used its crossbill to open up buds in search for nectar and insects for it to eat. Its most common haunts were the ʻōhiʻa and koa forests that were filled with the many flowers and insects that this species liked to eat. The Oʻahu ʻakepa is one of three different species of ʻakepa that were spread by possible weather and migration. The movement of the species stopped causing the species to break into four branches. The first branch was the Hawaiian ʻakepa, a scarlet- red bird that lives only on the Big Island and may be the ancestor of the genus ''Loxops''. Next is the Maui ʻakepa, which was found as fossils on all the islands of Maui Nui, but was historically seen on Maui. It is a grayish-orange bird that was the first of the ʻakepa species to disappear. Then came the Oʻahu ʻakepa, which is a brick red color and was seen till around the 1900s when it became extinct. The last branch was the ‘akeke‘e, a green bird that is only found on the island of Kauai.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:O'ahu 'akepa Loxops Bird extinctions since 1500 Birds described in 1895 Hawaiian honeycreepers Extinct birds of Hawaii