The anianiau (pronounced ) (''Magumma parva'') is a species of

Hawaiian honeycreeper Hawaiian honeycreepers are a group of small birds endemic to Hawaii. They are members of the finch family Fringillidae, closely related to the rosefinches (''Carpodacus''), but many species have evolved features unlike those present in any othe ...

that is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only 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 foun ...

to upper elevation

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

s on the island of

Kauai Kauai (), anglicized as Kauai ( or ), is one of the main Hawaiian Islands. It has an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), making it the fourth-largest of the islands and the 21st-largest island in the United States. Kauai lies 73 m ...

. This species seems to be rather distantly related to the typical Hemignathini (such as the amakihis and nukupuus). It is placed in the

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

''Magumma''.
Forty-ninth Supplement to the American Ornithologists’ Union Check-list of North American Birds, Banks, et al. (2008).

Description

The 'anianiau is a brightly

plumage Plumage () is a layer of feathers that covers a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage differ between species and subspecies and may vary with age classes. Within species, there can b ...

d yellow bird and at in length, the smallest Hawaiian honeycreeper. The anianiau has a slightly curved bill and a mass of about 10 g. The plumage of the female is more uniform and has a duller yellow-green color than the male's bright yellow. Its call is a pair of notes, ''tew-weet'', while its song is a trill of ''wee-see, wee-see, wee-see''.

Habitat

Anianiau are found in mesic and wet forests at elevations above . The highest densities occur above . Dominant tree species in its habitat include koa (''

Acacia koa ''Acacia koa'', commonly known as koa, is a species of Flowering plant, flowering tree in the Family (biology), family Fabaceae. It is Endemism, endemic to the Hawaiian Islands, where it is the second most common tree. The highest populations ar ...

''), ōhia lehua (''

Metrosideros polymorpha ''Metrosideros polymorpha'', the ''ōhia lehua'',; is a species of flowering evergreen tree in the Myrtus, myrtle family, Myrtaceae, that is Endemism, endemic to the six largest Hawaiian Islands, islands of Hawaii, Hawaii. It is a member of the ...

''), ōlapa ('' Cheirodendron trigynum''), and lapalapa ('' C. platyphyllum'').

Diet

The anianiau mainly feeds on

nectar Nectar is a viscous, sugar-rich liquid produced by Plant, plants in glands called nectaries, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollination, pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to an ...

from the flowers of plants such as ōhia lehua (''

''), ōhelo (''

Vaccinium ''Vaccinium'' is a common and widespread genus of shrubs or dwarf shrubs in the heath family (Ericaceae). The fruits of many species are eaten by humans and some are of commercial importance, including the cranberry, blueberry, bilberry (wh ...

'' spp.), and alani (''

Melicope ''Melicope'' is a genus of about 240 species of shrubs and trees in the family Rutaceae, occurring from the Hawaiian Islands across the Pacific Ocean to tropical Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Plants in the genus ''Melicope'' have simple or ...

'' spp.). It will also take

arthropod Arthropods ( ) are invertebrates in the phylum Arthropoda. They possess an arthropod exoskeleton, exoskeleton with a cuticle made of chitin, often Mineralization (biology), mineralised with calcium carbonate, a body with differentiated (Metam ...

s from trees, shrubs, or vines.

Breeding

The anianiau breeding season ranges from February to June. The female makes a small cup-shaped nest of twigs and lichens in an ōhia tree. Typically, three eggs are laid. The small yellow chicks leave the nest in three weeks, but while in the nest they are fed on a mainly protein diet of caterpillars.

Discovery

The anianiau was first discovered in the 1830s, but was not seen again for another fifty years. This species was not well studied until the 1960s.

Conservation

The range of the anianiau has contracted by 85%, as it previously could be found in all forests of

. Habitat degradation and invasion by non-native plants are the most significant threats to this species.

Mosquito Mosquitoes, the Culicidae, are a Family (biology), family of small Diptera, flies consisting of 3,600 species. The word ''mosquito'' (formed by ''Musca (fly), mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish and Portuguese for ''little fly''. Mos ...

-transmitted diseases, such as

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 vector in ...

and

fowlpox Fowlpox is the worldwide disease of poultry caused by viruses of the family ''Poxviridae'' and the genus '' Avipoxvirus''. The viruses causing fowlpox are distinct from one another but antigenically similar, possible hosts including chickens, tu ...

, are very rarely observed in captured anianiau, so they may not be a major cause of mortality. Predation by

rat Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents. Species of rats are found throughout the order Rodentia, but stereotypical rats are found in the genus ''Rattus''. Other rat genera include '' Neotoma'' (pack rats), '' Bandicota'' (bandicoo ...

s and

cat The cat (''Felis catus''), also referred to as the domestic cat or house cat, is a small domesticated carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species of the family Felidae. Advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that the ...

s is possible but has not been documented. This species is protected in the

Alakai Wilderness Preserve ''HST-2'', formerly named USNS ''Puerto Rico'' and ''Alakai'', is a vessel owned by the United States Navy Military Sealift Command. She was originally Hawaii Superferry's first high-speed ferry. The vessel was later chartered by Bay Ferries ...

and surrounding environs as well as Waimea Canyon and Kokee State Parks.

References

External links

Species factsheet
- BirdLife International
Videos, photos and sounds
- Internet Bird Collection
Kauai Forest Bird Recovery Project
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anianiau Hawaiian honeycreepers Carduelinae Biota of Kauai Endemic birds of Hawaii Birds described in 1887 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot