Day 30 of Avian August 2025, Birds of Hawaii, hosted by @cookiedoves: Kākāwahie or Molokaʻi creeper (Paroreomyza flammea)
The males of these little Hawaiian honeycreepers were once described as looking like a ball of flame. Their brilliant red plumage made them easy to spot in Molokaʻi’s wet montane forests. Sadly, the last confirmed sighting was on the ʻŌhiʻalele Plateau in 1963, and the species has since been declared extinct.
Kōpiko, or forest wild coffee (Psychotria mariniana), is a tree endemic to Hawaiʻi. It still grows in the same montane forests the kākāwahie once called home. Though the two species didn’t rely on each other directly, it’s likely that the honeycreeper foraged among the tree’s branches and collected pieces for nesting material.