The Hawaiʻi ʻakepa (''Loxops coccineus'') is an endangered

ʻakepa ''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: ...

native to

Hawaiʻi Hawaii ( ; ) is an island state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only state not on the North American mainland, th ...

in the

Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands () are an archipelago of eight major volcanic islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the Pacific Ocean, North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the Hawaii (island), island of Hawaii in the south to nort ...

. All three of the ʻakepa were considered monotypic before being split by the NACC of the AOU in 2015. The Hawaii akepa was first collected by western science during Captain James Cook's third voyage around the world. Several specimens were collected, as well as feather leis (necklaces resembling strings of flowers) constructed by Hawaiian artisans. The specimens were classified when brought back to England several years later. The Latin name of the bird, ''Loxops coccineus'', means "crossed" (''Loxops'') and "red" (''coccineus'').

Description

It is a four-inch (10 cm) long bird of a dusty green color. Males are bright orange. It has a small cross bill just like the other '' Loxops'' species. Its call is a slight quivering whistle ending with a long trill.

Distribution and habitat

The Hawaiʻi akepa survives only in two or three locations, all on the island of Hawaii: one population in

Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge is a protected area on the Hawaii (island), Big Island of Hawaii. It is one of two units, along with the Kona Forest National Wildlife Refuge that is managed as part of the Big Island National Wildlife R ...

(on the Hamakua Coast of Mauna Kea), one in the upper forest areas of Kau (in the southern part of the island), and one on the northern slope of

Hualālai Hualālai (pronounced in Hawaiian) is an active volcano on the island of Hawaii in the Hawaiian Islands. It is the westernmost, third-youngest and the third-most active of the five volcanoes that form the island of Hawaii, following Kīlauea ...

(perhaps extirpated). As of 2000, about 14,000 Hawaii akepa remained. They were listed as an

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

in 1975.

Feeding

It eats spiders and other invertebrates and drinks the nectar of several flowers including the

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 ...

of the ʻōhiʻa, the naio and the ''

lobelia ''Lobelia'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Campanulaceae comprising 415 species, with a subcosmopolitan distribution primarily in tropical to warm temperate regions of the world, a few species extending into cooler temperate r ...

''.

Breeding

These birds have a breeding season in spring. The Hawaii akepa is the only obligate cavity-nester in Hawaii. There are no cavity-making birds in Hawaii (another honeycreeper, the

ʻakiapolaʻau The akiapōlāau (''Hemignathus wilsoni''), pronounced ''ah-kee-ah-POH-LAH-OW'', is a species of Hawaiian honeycreeper that is endemic to the island of Hawaii. Its natural habitats are dry and montane moist forests, and the only bird species ...

, drills small holes and excavates bark, but does not make holes large enough for akepa nests). Thus, the akepa must find naturally occurring cavities in the trunks and branches. Such cavities are generally found only in very large, old trees, making the akepa an old-growth obligate. Large courtship groups have been observed during the breeding season, which is curious because this species makes permanent bonds. Another anomaly is the fact that for such a small bird, it does not lay many eggs—usually one or two, instead of the three to five of other similarly sized species.

Disease

Surviving akepa live only in old growth forest above elevation. This is a sign that

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 avian pox have played a role in killing off populations of akepa at lower elevations. These introduced diseases are implicated in more than 20 bird extinctions in Hawaii since 1826, when the first

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 ...

species (southern house mosquito, ''

Culex quinquefasciatus ''Culex quinquefasciatus'' (originally named ''Culex fatigans''), commonly known as the southern house mosquito, is a medium-sized mosquito found in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. It is a vector of ''Wuchereria bancrofti'', avian ...

'') was introduced to the islands. Disease continues to be a threat and could result in extinction of the akepa if Hawaiian climate continues to warm (or if new bird diseases or mosquito species are allowed to invade the islands).

Old growth deterioration

Due to their need for tree cavities, akepa rely on old-growth ōhia and koa forests for nesting. Although the largest populations of akepa live within protected lands, large trees appear to be falling faster than they are replaced. It is unclear how management can deal with this in the medium-term, except by use of artificial nest boxes. Past experiments with nest boxes (Freed ''et al.'', 1987) have shown that birds will occasionally use them, with high nesting success. There is no ongoing research or use of nest boxes for akepa as of 2010.

References

* Camp, R.J, T.K. Pratt, P.M. Gorresen, J.J. Jeffrey, and B.L. Woodworth. 2009. Passerine Bird Trends at Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge, Hawaii. http://www.uhh.hawaii.edu/hcsu/publications.php * Freed, L. A., T. M. Telecky, W. A. Tyler and M. A. Kjargaard. 1987. Nest site variability in the Akepa and other cavity-nesting birds on the island of Hawai'i. Elepaio: 47(8). * Freed LA, Medeiros MC, and Bodner GR. 2008. Explosive increase in ectoparasites in Hawaiian forest birds. J Parasitol. 94(5):1009-21. * Freed LA and Cann RL. 2009. Negative Effects of an Introduced Bird Species on Growth and Survival in a Native Bird Community. Current Biology. * Fretz, J. S. 2002. Scales of food availability for an endangered insectivore, the Hawaii Akepa. The Auk 119(1). {{DEFAULTSORT:Hawai'i 'akepa Loxops Hawaiian honeycreepers Biota of Hawaii (island) Endemic fauna of Hawaii Endangered fauna of Hawaii Birds described in 1789 Taxa named by Johann Friedrich Gmelin ESA endangered species