Hawaii Amakihi

Hawaii Amakihi
A Common Amakihi on Oahu, Hawaii
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Fringillidae
Subfamily: Drepanididae
Tribe: Hemignathini
Genus: Hemignathus
Species: H. virens
Binomial name
Hemignathus virens
(Cabanis, 1851)
Synonyms

Viridonia virens

The Hawaii Amakihi (Hemignathus virens), also known as the Common ʻAmakihi, is a species of finch in the Hawaiian honeycreeper subfamily, Drepanididae.

Contents

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Distribution and habitat

It is endemic to the Big Island of Hawaii. It is one of the most common honeycreepers, inhabiting all types of habitat on the island at elevations from sea level to 8,000 feet (2,400 m). Of all the forest birds native to Hawaii, the Hawaii Amakihi has been affected the least by habitat changes. It is suspected that it is evolving resistance to diseases such as avian malaria.

Description

The Hawaii Amakihi is a small bird, measuring about 10 centimetres (3.9 in) in length.[2] It is a yellow-green bird with a small black bill that is 1.3 centimetres (0.51 in) long and has brown eyes with black pupils. It is a small bird with a powerful voice. It utters short chirps, Aki, Ki, Ki, A which can be heard well over a mile.

Behaviour

Feeding

The Hawaii ʻAmakihi has a very wide diet, able to find food regardless of habitat alteration. It has a tubular tongue, which it uses to drink nectar from flowers such as those of theʻōhiʻa lehua (Metrosideros polymorpha), ʻākala (Rubus hawaiensis), and māmane (Sophora chrysophylla). If necessary, it will suck juice from fruits. The Common ʻAmakihi also hunts for spiders and insects among trees and shrubs.[2]

Breeding

During the breeding season, between January through March, It makes a small nest made of woven plant fibers, and in most cases lays only a single egg. Only in rare cases does this bird lay two eggs. The chick(s) hatches after two weeks and out comes a baby that is naked except for a couple of yellow feathers. After two to three weeks, the chicks are fledged and then off to find a new territory of their own.

References

  1. ^ BirdLife International (2009). "Hemignathus virens". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/149616. Retrieved 30 January 2010. 
  2. ^ a b "Hemignathus virens". Native Forest Birds of Hawai'i. Conservation Hawaii. http://www.state.hi.us/dlnr/dofaw/consrvhi/forestbirds/. Retrieved 2009-02-07.