The Oʻahu ʻamakihi (''Chlorodrepanis flava'') is a species of

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 ...

in the family

Fringillidae The true finches are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Fringillidae. Finches have stout conical bills adapted for eating seeds and nuts and often have colourful plumage. They occupy a great range of habitats where they are usua ...

. The male is rich yellow below, sharply contrasted with greenish upper parts. Females are duller and have two prominent wing-bars. It has a total length of approximately . It is

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 elsew ...

to the island of

Oahu Oahu () (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering place#Island of Oʻahu as The Gathering Place, Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over t ...

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 stat ...

, and is likely the only surviving honeycreeper endemic to the island.

Taxonomy

The Oʻahu ʻamakihi was first named by

Andrew Bloxam Andrew Bloxam (22 September 1801 – 2 February 1878) was an English clergyman and naturalist; in his later life he had a particular interest in botany. He was the naturalist on board during its voyage around South America and the Pacific in 18 ...

(as ''Nectarina flava''). He saw it and collected specimens from Oʻahu while in the

Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands ( haw, Nā Mokupuni o Hawai‘i) are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kur ...

in 1825 as the naturalist on board HMS ''Blonde''. The species was formerly placed in the genus ''

Hemignathus ''Hemignathus'' is a Hawaiian honeycreeper genus in the subfamily Carduelinae of the finch family, Fringillidae. These birds are endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. Extinctions Many of its species became extinct during the 19th and 20th centurie ...

'' but was assigned to ''

Chlorodrepanis ''Chlorodrepanis'' is a genus of Hawaiian honeycreeper in the subfamily Carduelinae of the family Fringillidae. The birds are endemic to Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the P ...

'' based on the

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups o ...

analysis of

mitochondrial A mitochondrion (; ) is an organelle found in the cells of most Eukaryotes, such as animals, plants and fungi. Mitochondria have a double membrane structure and use aerobic respiration to generate adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is use ...

and nuclear DNA sequences.

Habitat

It tends to stay in the wetter southern area of Oahu, and in the valley near

Wahiawa Wahiawa ( haw, Wahiawā, ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Honolulu County, Hawaii, United States, on the island of Oahu. It is in the Wahiawa District, on the plateau or "central valley" between the two volcanic mountains that comprise the ...

and

Mililani Mililani () is a city located near the center of the island of Oahu in Honolulu County, Hawaiʻi, United States. It consists of two census-designated places, Mililani Town, with a population of 28,121 at the 2020 census, and Mililani Mauka, wi ...

. It can easily be spotted in two major parks, the Honouliuli Preserve, and the Wa'ahila Ridge State Recreation Area. It tends to stay in forest, but has - at least to some extent - adapted to non-native forest types. It will nest and forage in wooded urban areas, but prefers native habitats where koa (''

Acacia koa ''Acacia koa'' or commonly known as koa is a species of flowering tree in the family Fabaceae. It is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands, where it is the second most common tree. The highest populations are on Hawaii, Maui and Oahu. Name The name ...

'') dominates. It mainly occurs at altitudes above , but in some valleys in parts of its range it occurs lower.

Diet

Due to its bill shape, it is able to scrape off pieces of bark and reach insects that make up all of the

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, respo ...

in its diet. It drinks nectar from ōhia lehua (''

Metrosideros polymorpha ''Metrosideros polymorpha'', the ''ōhia lehua'', is a species of flowering evergreen tree in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, that is endemic to the six largest islands of Hawaii. It is a highly variable tree, being tall in favorable situations, ...

'') trees and in rare cases it will use sugar feeders.

Breeding

The birds pair off during the breeding season, which occurs from mid-December to early March. The small nest is wide. The female lays one to two

eggs Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...

. In two weeks the eggs hatch, with the hatchlings covered in brown

down feather The down of birds is a layer of fine feathers found under the tougher exterior feathers. Very young birds are clad only in down. Powder down is a specialized type of down found only in a few groups of birds. Down is a fine thermal insulator an ...

s. The birds are ready leave the nest three weeks later.

Threats

It is threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

, introduced predators and

avian malaria Avian malaria is a parasitic disease of birds, caused by parasite species belonging to the genera '' Plasmodium'' and '' Hemoproteus'' (phylum Apicomplexa, class Haemosporidia, family Plasmoiidae). The disease is transmitted by a dipteran vecto ...

. Some populations, however, appear to have developed a level of resistance to avian malaria, which might explain its recent expansion into lowland areas where

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 - the

vector Vector most often refers to: *Euclidean vector, a quantity with a magnitude and a direction *Vector (epidemiology), an agent that carries and transmits an infectious pathogen into another living organism Vector may also refer to: Mathematic ...

of this disease - are more common. Overall, it appears far less threatened than several other Hawaiian honeycreeper, as also reflected by its status as vulnerable.

References

External links

Species factsheet
- BirdLife International
Videos, photos, and sounds
- Internet Bird Collection {{DEFAULTSORT:Oahu amakihi Hawaiian honeycreepers Chlorodrepanis Biota of Oahu Endemic birds of Hawaii Birds described in 1827 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot