The Oʻahu ʻakepa (''Loxops wolstenholmei'') is an extinct species of

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: ...

that was

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 island of

Oahu Oahu (, , sometimes written Oahu) is the third-largest and most populated island of the Hawaiian Islands and of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital, Honolulu, is on Oahu's southeast coast. The island of Oahu and the uninhabited Northwe ...

. It was commonly sighted throughout the 19th century. This brick red

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 ...

was found in the mountain peaks in densely forested areas. The females were mostly gray with a tinge of green. The birds had a slight crossbill just like the other '' Loxops'' species. It used its crossbill to open up buds in search for nectar and insects for it to eat. Its most common haunts were the ʻōhiʻa and

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forests that were filled with the many flowers and insects that this species liked to eat. The Oʻahu ʻakepa is one of three different species of ʻakepa that were spread by possible weather and migration. The movement of the species stopped causing the species to break into four branches. The first branch was the Hawaiian ʻakepa, a scarlet- red bird that lives only on the Big Island and may be the ancestor of the genus ''Loxops''. Next is the Maui ʻakepa, which was found as fossils on all the islands of Maui Nui, but was historically seen on Maui. It is a grayish-orange bird that was the first of the ʻakepa species to disappear. Then came the Oʻahu ʻakepa, which is a brick-red color and was seen till around the 1900s when it became extinct. The last branch was the ‘akeke‘e, a green bird that is only found on the island of Kauai.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:O'ahu 'akepa Loxops Bird extinctions since 1500 Birds described in 1895 Hawaiian honeycreepers Extinct birds of Hawaii