Hawaiian honeycreepers are small, passerine birds endemic to Hawai?i. They are closely related to the rosefinches in the genus Carpodacus. Their great morphological diversity is the result of adaptive radiation in an insular environment.
Before the introduction of molecular phylogenetic techniques, the relationship of the Hawaiian honeycreepers to other bird species was controversial. The honeycreepers were sometimes categorized as a family Drepanididae, other authorities considered them a subfamily, Drepanidinae, of Fringillidae, the finch family. The entire group was also called "Drepanidini" in treatments where buntings and American sparrows (Passerellidae) are included in the finch family; this term is preferred for just one subgroup of the birds today. Most recently, the entire group has been subsumed into the finch subfamily Carduelinae.
Video Hawaiian honeycreeper
Classification
The group is divided into three tribes, but only very provisionally so. Several taxa appear to be too basal to really place into one of these, and others are best considered incertae sedis. Some unusual forms never seen alive by scientists, such as Xestospiza or Vangulifer, cannot easily be placed into any tribe.
Psittirostrini
Members of Psittirostrini, known as "Hawaiian finches", are granivorous with thick finch-like bills, and songs like those of cardueline finches. The group once covered the islands. Finch-billed drepanids include the Laysan finch, the Nihoa finch, the Maui parrotbill and the palila, which may be the last remaining species left alive in this group. Extinct species include the four koa finches, the ????, and the L?na?i hookbill.
Hemignathini
Birds of the tribe Hemignathini are generally thin-billed billed species that feed on nectar and insects, and include the ?amakihis as well as the Hawai?i creeper and its allies, such as the nukupu?u. Though these are generally green-plumaged birds, a few members of this group have yellow, orange, red and/or gray feathers.
Drepanidini
Species in the tribe Drepanidini are nectarivorous, and their songs contain nasal squeaks and whistles. The plumages of the birds in this group tend to be rather colorful, with a mix of red, black, white, yellow and orange represented. It includes the ?i?iwi, ?apapane, ?akohekohe and the extinct mamos.
Maps Hawaiian honeycreeper
Characteristics
In the tribe Psittirostrini the males are more brightly colored than the females, but in the Hemignathini and Drepanidini they often look very similar. Nearly all species of Hawaiian Honeycreepers have been noted as having a unique odor to their plumage, described by many researchers as "rather like that of old canvas tents". This "Drepanidine odor" is suspected by some as having a role in making the bird distasteful to predators.
Today, the flowers of the native ??hi?a lehua (Metrosideros polymorpha) are favored by a number of nectarivorous honeycreepers. The wide range of bills in this group, from thick, finch-like bills to slender, downcurved bills for probing flowers have arisen through adaptive radiation, where an ancestral finch has evolved to fill a large number of ecological niches. Some 20 species of Hawaiian honeycreeper have become extinct in the recent past, and many more in earlier times, between the arrival of the Polynesians who introduced the first rats, chickens, pigs, and dogs, and hunted and converted habitat for agriculture.
Genera and species
The term "prehistoric" indicates species that became extinct between the initial human settlement of Hawai?i (i.e., from the late 1st millennium AD on) and European contact in 1778.
Subfamily Carduelinae
- Tribe Drepanidini
- Genus Ciridops Newton, 1892 - finch-like, fed on fruit of Pritchardia species
- Ciridops anna Dole, 1879 - ?ula ?ai h?wane (extinct, 1892 or 1937)
- Ciridops tenax Olson & James, 1991 stout-legged finch (prehistoric)
- Genus Drepanis Temminck, 1820 - downcurved bills, nectarivores
- Drepanis funerea Newton, 1894 - black mamo (extinct, 1907)
- Drepanis pacifica Gmelin, 1788 - Hawai?i mamo (extinct, 1898)
- Drepanis coccinea Forster, 1780 - ?i?iwi
- Genus Himatione - thin-billed nectarivore
- Himatione sanguinea Gmelin, 1788 - ?apapane
- Himatione fraithii - Laysan honeycreeper (extinct, 1923)
- Genus Melamprosops Casey & Jacobi, 1974 - short pointed bill, browser and snail specialist
- Melamprosops phaeosoma Casey & Jacobi, 1974 - po?ouli (possibly extinct, November 28, 2004?)
- Genus Palmeria Rothschild, 1893 - thin-billed nectarivore, favors Metrosideros polymorpha
- Palmeria dolei Wilson, 1891 - ?akohekohe (thought to be extinct, rediscovered in 1945)
- Genus Ciridops Newton, 1892 - finch-like, fed on fruit of Pritchardia species
- Tribe Hemignathini
- Genus Aidemedia Olson & James, 1991 - straight thin bills, insectivores
- Aidemedia chascax Olson & James, 1991 - O?ahu icterid-like gaper (prehistoric)
- Aidemedia lutetiae Olson & James, 1991 - Maui Nui icterid-like gaper (prehistoric)
- Aidemedia zanclops Olson & James, 1991 - sickle-billed gaper (prehistoric)
- Genus Chlorodrepanis Olson & James, 1995 - pointed bills, insectivorous or nectarivorous
- Chlorodrepanis stejnegeri Pratt, 1989 - Kaua?i ?amakihi
- Chlorodrepanis flava Bloxam, 1827 - O?ahu ?amakihi
- Chlorodrepanis virens Cabanis, 1851 - Hawai?i ?amakihi
- Genus Viridonia
- Viridonia sagittirostris Rothschild, 1892 - greater ?amakihi (extinct, 1901)
- Genus Hemignathus Lichtenstein, 1839 - pointed or long and downcurved bills, insectivorous or nectarivorous
- Hemignathus affinis - Maui nukupu?u (extinct, 1995-1998)
- Hemignathus hanapepe - Kaua?i nukupu?u (extinct, 1998)
- Hemignathus lucidus - O?ahu nukupu?u (extinct, 1837)
- Hemignathus vorpalis James & Olson, 2003 - Giant nukupu'u (prehistoric)
- (Sub)Genus Heterorhynchus
- Hemignathus wilsoni Rothschild, 1893 - ?akiapola?au
- Genus Magumma
- Magumma parva Stejneger, 1887 - ?anianiau
- Genus Akialoa Olson & James, 1995 - pointed, long and downcurved bills, insectivorous or nectarivorous
- Akialoa ellisiana Gray, 1859 - O?ahu ?akialoa (extinct, 1940)
- Akialoa lanaiensis Rothschild, 1893 - Maui Nui ?akialoa (extinct, 1892)
- Akialoa stejnegeri Wilson, 1889 - Kaua?i ?akialoa (extinct, 1969)
- Akialoa obscura Cabanis, 1889 - lesser ?akialoa (extinct, 1940)
- Akialoa upupirostris - hoopoe-billed ?akialoa (prehistoric)
- Genus Loxops - small pointed bills with the tips offset a little horizontally, insectivores
- Loxops caeruleirostris Wilson, 1890 - ?akeke?e
- Loxops coccineus Gmelin, 1789 - Hawai?i ?akepa
- Loxops ochraceus Rothschild, 1893 - Maui ?akepa (extinct, 1988)
- Loxops wolstenholmei Rothschild, 1895 - O?ahu ?akepa (extinct, 1990s)
- Loxops mana Wilson, 1891 - Hawai?i creeper
- Genus Oreomystis Wilson, 1891 - short pointed bills, browsers
- Oreomystis bairdi Stejneger, 1887 - ?akikiki
- Genus Paroreomyza - similar to Oreomystis
- Paroreomyza montana
- Paroreomyza montana montana Wilson, 1890 - L?na?i ?alauahio (extinct, 1937)
- Paroreomyza montana newtoni (Rothschild, 1893) - Maui Nui ?alauahio
- Paroreomyza flammea (Wilson, 1889) - Moloka?i creeper or k?k?wahie (extinct, 1963)
- Paroreomyza maculata Cabanis, 1850 - O?ahu ?alauahio (possibly extinct, early 1990s?)
- Paroreomyza montana
- Genus Vangulifer - flat rounded bills, possibly caught flying insects
- Vangulifer mirandus - strange-billed finch (prehistoric)
- Vangulifer neophasis - thin-billed finch (prehistoric)
- Genus Aidemedia Olson & James, 1991 - straight thin bills, insectivores
- Tribe Psittirostrini
- Genus Chloridops Wilson, 1888 - thick-billed, Myoporum sandwicense and other hard seed specialist
- Chloridops kona Wilson, 1888 - Kona grosbeak (extinct, 1894)
- Chloridops regiskongi - King Kong grosbeak (prehistoric)
- Chloridops wahi - wahi grosbeak (prehistoric)
- Genus Dysmorodrepanis Perkins, 1919 - pincer-like bill, possibly snail specialist
- Dysmorodrepanis munroi Perkins, 1919 - L?na?i hookbill (extinct, 1918)
- Genus Loxioides Oustalet, 1877 - finch-like, Fabales seed specialists
- Loxioides bailleui Oustalet, 1877 - palila
- Loxioides kikuichi Olson & James, 2006 - Kaua?i palila (prehistoric, possibly survived to the early 18th century)
- Genus Orthiospiza - large weak bill, possibly soft seed or fruit specialist?
- Orthiospiza howarthi James & Olson, 1991 - highland finch (prehistoric)
- Genus Pseudonestor - parrot-like bill, probes decomposing wood for insect larvae
- Pseudonestor xanthophrys Rothschild, 1893 - Maui parrotbill (thought to be extinct, rediscovered in 1945)
- Genus Psittirostra - slightly hooked bill, Freycinetia arborea fruit specialist
- Psittirostra psittacea Gmelin, 1789 - ???? (probably extinct, 1998?)
- Genus Rhodacanthis - large-billed legume specialists
- Rhodacanthis flaviceps Rothschild, 1892 - lesser koa-finch (extinct, 1891)
- Rhodacanthis forfex James & Olson, 2005 - scissor-billed koa-finch (prehistoric)
- Rhodacanthis litotes James & Olson, 2005 - primitive koa-finch (prehistoric)
- Rhodacanthis palmeri Rothschild, 1892 - greater koa-finch (extinct, 1896)
- Genus Telespiza Wilson, 1890 - finch-like, granivores, opportunistic scavengers
- Telespiza cantans Wilson, 1890 - Laysan finch
- Telespiza persecutrix James & Olson, 1991 - Kaua?i finch (prehistoric)
- Telespiza ultima Bryan, 1917 - Nihoa finch
- Telespiza ypsilon James & Olson, 1991 - Maui Nui finch (prehistoric)
- Genus Xestospiza James & Oslon, 1991 - cone-shaped bills, possibly insectivores
- Xestospiza conica James & Olson, 1991 - cone-billed finch (prehistoric)
- Xestospiza fastigialis James & Olson, 1991 - ridge-billed finch (prehistoric)
- Genus Chloridops Wilson, 1888 - thick-billed, Myoporum sandwicense and other hard seed specialist
See also
- Hawaiian honeycreeper conservation
- List of adaptive radiated Hawaiian honeycreepers by form
Cited references
Other references
- Groth, J. G. 1998. Molecular phylogeny of the cardueline finches and Hawaiian honeycreepers. Ostrich, 69: 401.
External links
- Hawaiian Honeycreepers (Drepanididae) information, including 4 species with videos and 11 with photographs at the Internet Bird Collection
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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