- Hawaiian honeycreeper
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Hawaiian honeycreeper ʻIʻiwi (Vestiaria coccinea) Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Passeriformes Family: Fringillidae Subfamily: Drepanidinae
Cabanis, 1847Genera see text
Synonyms Drepanididae
Drepanidini[verification needed] (see text)
DrepaniidaeHawaiian honeycreepers are small, passerine birds endemic to Hawaiʻi. Some authorities still categorize this group as a family Drepanididae,[1] but in recent years, most authorities consider them a subfamily, Drepanidinae, of Fringillidae, the finch family. The entire group is also called "Drepanidini" in treatments where buntings and American sparrows (Emberizidae) are included in the finch family; this term is preferred for just one subgroup of the birds today.[2][3]
Contents
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 group.
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 ʻŌʻū, and the Lānaʻi Hookbill.
Hemignathini
Hemignathini includes the Hawaiʻi creeper and its allies, such as the nukupuʻu. These are generally green-plumaged birds with thin bills, and feed on nectar and insects. Members of this group usually have green, yellow, orange, red, and grey feathers.
Drepanidini
Species in the tribe Drepanidini are nectarivorous, and their songs contain nasal squeaks and whistles. Members of this group often have red black, yellow, white and orange plumage. It includes the ʻiʻwi.
Characteristics
The male Hawaiian honeycreepers are more brightly coloured than the females in the Psittirostrini, but in the Hemignathini, they often look very similar. The flowers of the native ʻōhiʻa lehua (Metrosideros polymorpha) are favoured by a number of nectarivorous honeycreepers. Many species of this subfamily have been noted to have a plumage odor that has been termed the "Drepanidine odor",[4] and is suspected to have a role in making the bird distasteful to predators.[5]
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.[6][7]
Genera and species
The term "prehistoric" indicates species that went extinct between the initial human settlement of Hawaiʻi (i.e., from the late 1st millennium AD on) and European contact in 1778.
SUBFAMILY DREPANIDINAE
- Tribe Drepanidini
- Genus Ciridops Newton, 1892 - finch-like, fed on fruit of Pritchardia species
- Ciridops anna Dole, 1879 - ʻUla ʻai hāwane (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 - Hawaiʻi Mamo (extinct, 1898)
- Genus Himatione - thin-billed nectarivore
- Himatione sanguinea Gmelin, 1788 - ʻApapane
- Himatione sanguinea freethi - Laysan ʻApapane (extinct, 1923)
- Himatione sanguinea Gmelin, 1788 - ʻApapane
- Genus Melamprosops Casey & Jacobi, 1974 - short pointed bill, browser and snail specialist
- Melamprosops phaeosoma Casey & Jacobi, 1974 - Poʻouli (possibly extinct, November 28, 2004?)
- Genus Palmeria Rothschild, 1893 - thin-billed nectarivore, favors Metrosideros polymorpha
- Palmeria dolei Wilson, 1891 - ʻĀkohekohe (thought to be extinct, rediscovered in 1945)
- Genus Vestiaria Jarocki, 1821 - downcurved-bill nectarivore
- 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 - prehistoric)
- Aidemedia lutetiae Olson & James, 1991 - Maui Nui Icterid-like Gaper (prehistoric)
- Aidemedia zanclops Olson & James, 1991 - Sickle-billed Gaper (prehistoric)
- Genus Hemignathus Lichtenstein, 1839 - pointed or long and downcurved bills, insectivorous or nectarivorous
- Hemignathus flavus Bloxam, 1827 - Oʻahu ʻAmakihi
- Hemignathus kauaiensis Pratt, 1989 - Kauaʻi ʻAmakihi
- Hemignathus lucidus Lichtenstein, 1839 - Nukupuʻu
- Hemignathus lucidus affinis - Maui Nukupuʻu (extinct, 1995–1998)
- Hemignathus lucidus hanapepe - Kauaʻi Nukupuʻu (extinct, 1998)
- Hemignathus lucidus lucides - Oʻahu Nukupuʻu (extinct, 1837)
- Hemignathus sagittirostris Rothschild, 1892 - Greater ʻAmakihi (extinct, 1901)
- Hemignathus virens Cabanis, 1851 - Common ʻAmakihi
- Hemignathus vorpalis James & Olson, 2003 - Giant ʻAmakihi (prehistoric)[8]
- (Sub)Genus Akialoa
- Hemignathus ellisianus or Akialoa ellisiana Gray, 1859 - Oʻahu ʻAkialoa (extinct, 1940)
- Hemignathus lanaiensis or Akialoa lanaiensis Rothschild, 1893 - Maui Nui ʻAkialoa (extinct, 1892)
- Hemignathus obscurus or Akialoa obscura Cabanis, 1889 - Hawaiʻi ʻAkialoa (extinct, 1940)
- Hemignathus stejnegeri or Akialoa stejnegeri Wilson, 1889 - Kauaʻi ʻAkialoa (extinct, 1969)
- Hemignathus upupirostris or Akialoa upupirostris - Hoopoe-billed ʻAkialoa (prehistoric)
- (Sub)Genus Heterorhynchus
- Hemignathus munroi or Heterorhynchus wilsoni Pratt, 1979 - ʻAkiapolaʻau
- (Sub)Genus Magumma
- Genus Loxops - small pointed bills with the tips offset a little horizontally, insectivores
- Genus Oreomystis Wilson, 1891 - short pointed bills, browsers
- Oreomystis bairdi Stejneger, 1887 - ʻAkikiki
- Oreomystis mana Wilson, 1891 - Hawaiʻi Creeper
- Genus Paroreomyza - similar to Oreomystis
- Paroreomyza montana Wilson, 1890 - Maui Nui ʻAlauahio
- Paroreomyza montana montana - Lānaʻi ʻAlauahio (extinct, 1937)
- Paroreomyza flammea Wilson, 1889 - Molokaʻi Creeper or Kākāwahie (extinct, 1963)
- Paroreomyza maculata Cabanis, 1850 - Oʻahu ʻAlauahio (possibly extinct, early 1990s?)
- Paroreomyza montana Wilson, 1890 - Maui Nui ʻAlauahio
- 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 - Giant ("King Kong") Grosbeak (prehistoric)
- Chloridops wahi - Wahi Grosbeak (prehistoric)
- Genus Dysmorodrepanis Perkins, 1919 - pincer-like bill, possibly snail specialist
- Dysmorodrepanis munroi Perkins, 1919 - Lānaʻi Hookbill (extinct, 1918)
- Genus Loxioides Oustalet, 1877 - finch-like, Fabales seed specialists
- Loxioides bailleui Oustalet, 1877 - Palila
- Loxioides kikuichi Olson & James, 2006 - Kauaʻi 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
- Genus Rhodacanthis - large-billed legume specialists[9]
- 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 - Kauaʻi 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
Cited references
- ^ Clements, J. 2007. The Clements Checklist of the Birds of the World. 6th ed. ISBN 978-0-7136-8695-1
- ^ Dickinson, E, ed (2003). The Howard and Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World (3rd ed.). Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691117010.
- ^ AOU Check-list of North American Birds Accessed 26 December 2007
- ^ Pratt, H Douglas (2002). The Hawaiian Honeycreepers. Oxford University Press. p. 46. ISBN 9780198546535. http://books.google.com/?id=h8cdPD-YsosC.
- ^ Weldon, Paul J; John H. Rappole (1997). "A Survey of Birds Odorous or Unpalatable to Humans: Possible Indications of Chemical Defense". Journal of Chemical Ecology (Springer Science+Business Media) 23 (11): 2609–2633. doi:10.1023/B:JOEC.0000006670.79075.92.
- ^ James, Helen F.; Olson, Storrs L (1991). "Descriptions of Thirty-Two New Species of Birds from the Hawaiian Islands: Part II. Passeriformes" (PDF). Ornithological Monographs 46: 1–92. http://elibrary.unm.edu/sora/om/om046.pdf.
- ^ Olson, Storrs L.; James, Helen F (1991). "Descriptions of Thirty-Two New Species of Birds from the Hawaiian Islands: Part I. Non-Passeriformes" (PDF). Ornithological Monographs 45: 1–91. http://elibrary.unm.edu/sora/om/om045.pdf.
- ^ James, Helen F; Storrs L. Olson (2003). "A giant new species of nukupuu (Fringillidae: Drepanidini: Hemignathus) from the island of Hawaii". The Auk 120 (4): 970–981. doi:10.1642/0004-8038(2003)120[0970:AGNSON]2.0.CO;2. http://www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.1642/0004-8038(2003)120%5B0970%3AAGNSON%5D2.0.CO%3B2.
- ^ James, Helen F.; Johnathan P. Prince (May 2008). "Integration of palaeontological, historical, and geographical data on the extinction of koa-finches". Diversity & Distributions 14 (3): 441–451. doi:10.1111/j.1472-4642.2007.00442.x. http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/bsc/ddi/2008/00000014/00000003/art00001?crawler=true.
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
Categories:- Drepanidinae
- Hawaiian honeycreepers
- Extinct birds
- Extinct Hawaiian animals
- Endemic fauna of Hawaii
- Higher-level bird taxa restricted to the Australasia-Pacific region
- Late Quaternary prehistoric birds
- Tribe Drepanidini
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