Hawaiian Honeycreeper

Hawaiian honeycreeper, any member of a group of related birds, many of them nectar-eating, that evolved in the forests of the Hawaiian Islands and are found only there. Recent evidence from osteology, behaviour, plumage, breeding biology, and genetics has led to a consensus that the Hawaiian honeycreepers are closely related to the cardueline finches, which include birds such as goldfinches, canaries, siskins, and crossbills. They constitute the family Drepanididae within the order Passeriformes. Most of the species are called by native names (see amakihi; apapane; iiwi; mamo). Habitat destruction and the introduction of foreign birds and mammals have led to the extinction of at least 8 of the original 23 species; most of the survivors are endangered. Numerous subspecies are known.

Hawaiian honeycreepers differ in certain ways from American honeycreepers. Isolated in the mid-Pacific, they underwent a remarkable evolutionary radiation, diversifying in the manner of the better-known Darwin’s finches in the Galapagos Islands. Those with thin bills and, usually, red-and-black plumage (both sexes look alike) feed on nectar; those with finchlike bills and, usually, greenish plumage (males often have orange or yellow markings) eat seeds, fruits, and insects. Other species are intermediate between these two types. In most Hawaiian honeycreepers the tongue is troughlike and brush-tipped. The birds’ size ranges from 10 to 20 cm (4 to 8 inches). Hawaiian honeycreepers usually have simple songs and make grassy nests.