The Hawai‘i ‘Amakihi: fortunately still a fairly common bird in a state where many native birds have declined or gone extinct. With a tubular tongue for sipping nectar and tree sap, and a decurved bill for gleaning tree bark and foliage for spiders and insects, this species' adaptability has helped it remain more common than most other Hawaiian honeycreepers. See video: https://abcbirds.org/bird/hawaii-amakihi/ Photo of Hawai'i Amakihi by Robby Kohley #honeycreepersofinstagram #hawaiiamakihi #amakihi #birdsofhawaii #honeycreeper #birdsofinstagram #hawaiianbirds #americanbirdconservancy #pacificrimconservation #birdconservation #upsidedownbirds #nectaring
Calling all bird nerds! Are you ready for the Hakalau Challenge?
By Holly Richards
Holly is an Public Affairs Officer with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. She works in Honolulu,Hawaii.
What do you hear when you listen to the sounds of the forest? The wind in the leaves, the rustle of wildlife, the songs of the birds.
Listen refuge biologist Steve Kendall identify some of the birds he hears at Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge and see how many different forest birds you can pick out. Once you’re done, scroll down to see and hear some of the birds identified. Good Luck! And may the birds be ever in your favor!
‘I‘iwi Vestiaria coccinea
This nectar feeding member of the honeycreeper family, with its brilliant scarlet body plumage and black wings and tail, abounds in the forest canopy where ‘ōhi‘a lehua blossoms are plentiful. The ‘i‘iwi's long, down curved, orange bill is specialized for sipping nectar from tubular flowers. The ‘i‘iwi’s "squeaky hinge” call can be heard throughout the forest when the birds are present.
‘Ōma‘ō Myadestes obscurus / Hawaiian Thrush
This bird has a dark brown back and a light gray breast. Birds are gray-brown above and lighter gray below, with a short, dark bill, a dark eye, and dark legs. As a member of the thrush family, Oma'os have a juvenile plumage pattern with heavy scalloping on the breast. The breast on juvenile birds is buffy-whitish in color, with black scalloped markings.
‘Apapane Himatione sanguinea
They are found on all main islands, primarily in native forest. Common on Hawai`i, Maui, and Kaua`i, uncommon on O`ahu, rare on Lana`i.
`Apapane are 5 inches. Both sexes look similar. The bodies are crimson red with a white abdomen and under tail coverts. The wings, tail, and legs are black. The bill is black and slightly curved. Juveniles are similar to adults except are a grayish-brown color. Their wings produce a distinct whirring sound in flight.
Hawai‘i ‘Amakihi Hemignathus virens
The Hawai‘i ‘amakihi is a small, generalist Hawaiian honeycreeper that occurs on the islands of Hawai‘i, Maui, and Moloka‘i. Until 1995, the Hawai‘i ‘amakihi, and the O‘ahu (H. flavus) and Kaua‘i ‘amakihi (H. kauaiensis) were considered a single species: the common ‘amakihi (H. virens).
Plumage of male Hawai‘i ‘amakihi is bright yellow-green above, and there is some inter-island variation, especially among females. Both have decurved bills.
They are generalized foragers that most often glean arthropods from the leaves, blossoms, twigs, branches, and less frequently from tree trucks of a variety of trees, ferns, and shrubs. They feed on nectar predominately from the flowers of ‘ōhi‘a, māmane, and native lobelias, but also forages on flowers of a number of other native and non-native plants.
For downloadable photos of the Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge: https://www.flickr.com/photos/usfwspacific/
Learn more about Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge.
We give our wild birds some Nekton which is basically bird Gatorade after we’ve banded and measured them. This is an ‘Amakihi happily taking some sips before they fly off ❤️
Source - @moepoke
(All birds I post are handled by professional, trained biologists. No birds are harmed)
Gii Models for Friends, Part 4: Amakihi Bird Dress for @shine_bright_like_alika on Instagram! His collection theme was Hawaiian winged creatures.
My friends and I have a "fashion show" project going on where we design looks and have friends model our designs. This week I'm going to be posting the designs I drew for my friends, and next week I'll post the designs my friends "modelled" for me.
