The Maui ʻakepa (''Loxops ochraceus'') is a species of

ʻakepa ''Loxops'' is a Hawaiian honeycreeper genus in the finch 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: * Akekee or Kauai akepa ...

native to Maui 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 ...

, and which was common throughout the island. 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 "lit ...

es and other animals to Maui contributed to the declining population, and the bird is considered Critically Endangered or possibly extinct by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The latest reported sighting of this bird was in 1988, and in 2021 the

United States Fish and Wildlife Service The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with othe ...

declared it extinct.

Description

It was a four-inch (10 cm) long bird of a dusty green color. It had a small cross bill just like the other '' Loxops'' species. Its call was a slight quivering whistle ending with a long trill. It appeared as a small fast moving ball of fluff of green, as it flew from tree to tree.

Feeding

It ate spiders and other invertebrates and drank the nectar of several flowers including the nectar of the ʻōhiʻa, the

naio ''Myoporum sandwicense'', commonly known as ''naio'', bastard sandalwood or false sandalwood is a species of flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae. It is a tree or shrub highly variable in its form, the size and shape of its ...

and the ''

lobelia ''Lobelia'' () is a genus of flowering plants comprising 415 species, with a subcosmopolitan distribution primarily in tropical to warm temperate regions of the world, a few species extending into cooler temperate regions.Huxley, A., ed. (1992 ...

''.

Decline

Like many birds in the area, its condition as a species began to deteriorate as new plants replaced those that it was familiar with. Many of these plants included

raspberries The raspberry is the edible fruit of a multitude of plant species in the genus ''Rubus'' of the rose family, most of which are in the subgenus '' Idaeobatus''. The name also applies to these plants themselves. Raspberries are perennial with ...

which literally choked out the native growth and made itself an invincible plant. Those plants had also carried frogs and insects that began to eat the native insects, causing the Maui ʻakepa to lose much of its food supply, the introduced carriers had also brought more problems with them, for example more pests. The Maui ʻakepa was also a frail bird when it came to resistance to diseases like

avian flu Avian influenza, known informally as avian flu or bird flu, is a variety of influenza caused by viruses adapted to birds.ʻAkepa ''Loxops'' is a Hawaiian honeycreeper genus in the finch 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: * Akekee or Kauai akepa ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maui 'Akepa Loxops Hawaiian honeycreepers Biota of Maui Endemic birds of Hawaii Birds described in 1893 ESA endangered species