The O‘ahu ‘ō‘ō (''Moho apicalis'') was a 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, representing ...
. It was previously regarded as member of the Australo-Pacific
honeyeater
The honeyeaters are a large and diverse family (biology), family, Meliphagidae, of small to medium-sized birds. The family includes the Epthianura, Australian chats, myzomelas, friarbirds, wattlebirds, Manorina, miners and melidectes. They are ...
s (Meliphagidae).
Description
The males reached a length of 30.5 centimeters. The wing length was 10.5 to 11.4 centimeters, the culmen was between 3.5 and 3.8 centimetres and the tarsus was between 3.4 and 3.8 centimeters. The females were smaller. The plumage was predominantly sooty black. The tail feathers were brown and had, with the exception of the two central tail feathers, white tips. Further characteristics were the white feather tufts under the axillaries and the two narrow central tail feathers which changed into fine hair-like or fibrous tips. The flanks and the undertail coverts were colored deeply yellow. The bill and the tarsus were black. Its biology was not well-studied.
Distribution and habitat
Its habitat was the mountain forests on
O‘ahu
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’ ...
.
Extinction
The O‘ahu ‘ō‘ō was first mentioned 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 ...
. 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''), he saw live specimens of the bird which were brought to him by locals. He preserved one specimen. He wrote in his diary (not published until much later): "They are now very scarce in all the islands. I did not see even one in the different excursions I made, & the natives asked a high price for the very few they brought to me." Bloxam misidentified the birds as the related species
''Moho nobilis''.
John Gould
John Gould (; 14 September 1804 – 3 February 1881) was an English ornithologist. He published a number of monographs on birds, illustrated by plates produced by his wife, Elizabeth Gould, and several other artists, including Edward Lear, ...
scientifically named and described the O‘ahu ‘ō‘ō in 1860,
when it was already regarded as extinct for 23 years. The last reliable evidence was a collection of about three birds by German naturalist
Ferdinand Deppe
Ferdinand Deppe (1794–1861) was a German naturalist, explorer and painter. He was born and died in Berlin.
Deppe travelled to Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion o ...
in 1837, finding those specimens in the hills behind the capital,
Honolulu
Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...
.
After surveys led by ornithologist
Robert C. L. Perkins and others failed to find the bird between 1880 and 1890, it was described as extinct. Today, there are seven specimens in museum collections in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
,
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
,
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
and
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
,
.
The reasons for its extinction were (as typical for members of the Mohoidae) probably avian diseases caused by introduced
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 ...
s,
habitat destruction
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 ...
by overgrazing from livestock and
deforestation
Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...
.
References
Bibliography
*
Munro, George C. (1944 and its revised 2nd. edition from 1960): ''Birds of Hawaii''
*Flannery, Tim & Schouten, Peter (2001): ''A Gap in Nature''
*Fuller, Errol (2000): ''Extinct Birds''
*Day, David (1981): ''The Doomsday Book of Animals''
*Greenway, James C. (1967): ''Extinct and Vanishing Birds of the World''
*Luther, Dieter (2005): ''Die ausgestorbenen Vögel der Welt''
External links
Species factsheet- BirdLife International
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oahu Oo
Endemic birds of Hawaii
Extinct birds of Hawaii
Moho (genus)
Bird extinctions since 1500
Birds described in 1860
Species made extinct by human activities