Kauaʻi ʻŌʻō

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Kaua‘i ‘Ō‘ō

Extinct (1987) (IUCN 3.1)

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Meliphagidae
Genus:	Moho
Species:	M. braccatus

Binomial name

Moho braccatus
(Cassin, 1855)

The Kaua‘i ‘Ō‘ō Moho braccatus, also known as the ‘O‘o‘a‘a, is an extinct Hawaiian honeyeater which was endemic to the island of Kauai. It was common in the subtropical forests of the island until the early twentieth century, when its decline began. Its song was last heard in 1987 and it has since been declared extinct. The causes of its extinction include the introduction of the black rat, the common pig, and mosquitoes carrying avian diseases, as well as habitat destruction.

This bird was among the smallest of the Hawaiian honeyeaters, if not the smallest species, at just over 20 cm in length. It was black or very dark shiny brown with sparse yellow leg feathers and faint white banding on the breast and underwings. It was named the'o'o'a'a by the natives which means dwarf O'o. Like other honeyeaters it had a sharp, slightly decurved bill for sampling nectar. Its favored nectar sources were Lobelia species and the 'ohiʻa lehua tree, and it also ate small invertebrates and fruit. The bird was a cavity nester in the thickly forested canyons of Kauai. Many other of its relatives have also become extinct, such as the Hawai‘i ‘Ō‘ō, Moloka‘i ‘Ō‘ō, and O‘ahu ‘Ō‘ō. Little is known about these extinct birds. It may have gone extinct a from a large range of problems from mosquito tramition diseases. Which caused the species to retreat to higher ground. Higher elevation forests lack tree cavaties so few if any nests could be made. The final blow were two hurricane that came withen ten years of each other. They destroied many of the old trees with cavities, and prohibited tree growth when the second one came, causing the species to disappear in 1987. However the species may survive undetected as the species had been proclaimed extinct twice once in the 1940s later rediscovered in 1950. and again from the late 1950s to the early 1970s, being discovered by Sabo.

[edit] References

BirdLife International (2004). Moho braccatus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is listed as extinct