The Hawaii creeper, Hawaii creeper or ʻalawī (''Loxops mana'') is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

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 ...

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 the Big Island of

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

. Its natural

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

s are

dry forests The tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forest is a habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature and is located at tropical and subtropical latitudes. Though these forests occur in climates that are warm year-round, and may receive ...

and

montane Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures lapse rate, fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is ...

moist forests at elevations of . There are a total of 12,000 birds separated into three populations. A fourth population on the western part of the island probably represents migratory birds from one of the existing population. The Hawaii creeper measures and has drab green

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 ...

. In 2017 the traditional Hawaiian name was rediscovered as 'alawi'.

Diet

The Hawaii creeper is similar to treecreepers in that it is able to climb up and down

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

s. It uses its short, sharp

beak The beak, bill, or rostrum is an external anatomical structure found mostly in birds, but also in turtles, non-avian dinosaurs and a few mammals. A beak is used for pecking, grasping, and holding (in probing for food, eating, manipulating and ...

to probe

bark Bark may refer to: Common meanings * Bark (botany), an outer layer of a woody plant such as a tree or stick * Bark (sound), a vocalization of some animals (which is commonly the dog) Arts and entertainment * ''Bark'' (Jefferson Airplane album), ...

for

insect Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...

s residing underneath. If available, it will sip

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 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 ...

'') or 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 ...

'').

Breeding

The breeding season of the Hawaii creeper lasts from April to July, during which female birds lay one to three eggs. Nests are hidden in a tree cavity or built on a high branch in either a koa (''

'') or a ōhia lehua (''

''). Eggs hatch after around thirteen days.

Conservation

The Hawaii creeper was put on the endangered species list in 1975; however, it was unknown whether the bird was uncommon or endangered. Although this species has been put into full view of habitat degradation, it has been able to reproduce, so it's not thought to be a serious problem to this species. It has also been found in lower elevations in areas like the common amakihi and apparently handles the diseases better than other species just like it. Introductions of alien animals however have caused this bird to be put under pressure. This pressure includes the bird having competition for food. The other pressure is the fact that these birds are being eaten by rats which cause the populations to drop very quickly. The nests of the Hawaii creepers are low to the forest floor which leave the bird vulnerable to predators such as rats. The species is eaten as eggs, chicks, and even as full-fledged adults. Now its northern population is being protected in the same area as is the akiapolaau and other native birds: Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge. It is threatened by disease and

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

. Also, the Hawaii creeper has probably benefited from the conservation of other endangered birds in Hawaii.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hawai'i Creeper Loxops Hawaiian honeycreepers Endemic fauna of Hawaii Endangered fauna of Hawaii Birds described in 1891 Taxa named by Scott Barchard Wilson Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN