Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 9, Number 4, 1 April 1992 — Naturally Hawaiian [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Naturally Hawaiian

by Patrick Ching artist/environmentalist

The 'akialoa no longer frolics in Hawaii's forests

Picture a Hawaiian forest bird in your mind. Does it have a really long curved bill? If it does, your image is probably that of the Hawaiian honeycreeper known as the 'akialoa. Last sighted on Kaua'i in 1973, the

olive colored 'akialoa is known best for its long downward curved bill whieh ean be almost as long as its body. Subspecies of the 'akialoa also existed on O'ahu, Lana'i, and Hawai'i though the bills of those birds were not quite as long as the Kaua'i 'akialoa.

Over 50 species of Hawaiian honeycreepers are believed to have evolved from a eommon ancestral species whieh colonized the islands millions of years ago. Scientist believe that the Hawaiian honeycreepers evolved in many directions at onee; an evolutionary process known as adaptive radiation. Not all of the honeycreepers evolved with long curved bills. Some had short stout bills used to crack open seeds while others sported thin pointed bills whieh they used to catch

insects on the wing. The bill of the 'akialoa is especially useful for sipping nectar from tubular flowers or probing deep into rotting tree bark for worms, spiders and insects. The habits of the 'akialoa are not well known except that they usually make short flights from tree to tree occasionally singing in flight.

Their class was likened to that of a house finch and they were often sighted in the eompany of the akikiki (Kaua'i creepers). Unfortunately, the 'akialoa no longer frolics in Hawaii's forests. It, like many other species before it, has suffered the irreversible fate of extinction.

Honeycreeper known as the 'akialoa