The Maui alauahio (''Paroreomyza montana''), also known as the Maui Nui alauahio or Maui creeper, is a species of

Hawaiian honeycreeper Hawaiian honeycreepers are a group of small birds endemic to Hawaii. They are members of the finch family Fringillidae, closely related to the rosefinches (''Carpodacus''), but many species have evolved features unlike those present in any othe ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

Maui Nui Maui Nui is a modern Geology, geologists' name given to a prehistoric Hawaii, Hawaiian island and the corresponding modern Biogeography, biogeographic region. Maui Nui is composed of four modern islands: Maui, Molokai, Molokaʻi, Lanai, Lānaʻi, ...

, Hawaii. The name Maui alauahio is somewhat misleading because the species seems to have occurred on most, if not all, parts of the ancient

, which includes the present day islands of

Maui Maui (; Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ) is the second largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago, at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2). It is the List of islands of the United States by area, 17th-largest in the United States. Maui is one of ...

, Molokaʻi,

Lānaʻi Lānai is the sixth-largest of the Hawaiian Islands and the smallest publicly accessible inhabited island in the chain. It is colloquially known as the Pineapple Island because of its past as an island-wide pineapple plantation. The island's o ...

, and

Kahoʻolawe Kahoolawe (Hawaiian: ), anglicized as Kahoolawe ( ), is the smallest of the eight main volcanic islands of the Hawaiian Islands. Unpopulated, it lies about southwest of Maui. The island is long by wide, with a total land area of . Its highes ...

. There are two subspecies: the Lānaʻi ʻalauahio, ''P. montana montana'', which occurred on Lānaʻi (extinct); and ''P. montana newtoni'' which occurs on Maui. The common name refers to both groups.

Description

The Maui ʻalauahio is similar to the Hawaiʻi ʻamakihi in appearance and behavior. However, Maui ʻalauahio are a brighter yellow color, have a less curved bill and do not have prominent black lores (area between the bill and the eye).

Song

The Maui ʻalauahio call is a loud "cheep", and their song consists of a repeated whistled phrase "whichy-wheesee-whurdy-whew".

Diet

Maui ʻalauahio are

insectivorous A robber fly eating a hoverfly An insectivore is a carnivorous animal or plant which eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which can also refer to the human practice of eating insects. The first vertebrate insectivores we ...

and forage along trunks and branches flipping over lichen and bark in search of insects. They eat moths, beetles, spiders, leafhoppers, lacewings, and ichneumonid wasps. They forage on native plants including ʻōhiʻa, koa, pilo, alani, ʻōhelo, kōlea, pūkiawe, and ʻōlapa.

Breeding

The breeding season for Maui ʻalauahio is March - August. They are monogamous and often are assisted by the non-breeding second year offspring at the nest. The nest helpers assist the male with feeding the female during incubation, as well as feeding the chicks, usually by regurgitation. Maui ʻalauahio young may stay with parents for up to 20 months, and then breed in their third year. Interestingly, there are fewer Maui ʻalauahio pairs documented with nest helpers in disturbed habitats (20-30%) than native plant habitat (96%).

Habitat and distribution

Currently, Maui ʻalauahio are restricted to three populations above 900 m (2,952 feet) elevation on east Maui. These populations occur in three diverse habitats that are in the range of conservation managed areas, including the rainforest belt of Halealakā National Park, a forestry plantation, and a relic dry forest. Maui ʻalauahio can be seen at

Hosmer's Grove Hosmer's Grove is an example of experimental forestation from Hawaii's territorial days. Located just inside Haleakala National Park near the summit of Haleakala in Maui, Hawaii, it includes a campsite and several hiking trails. The grove is ...

Haleakalā National Park Haleakalā National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States located on the island of Maui, Hawaii. Named after Haleakalā, a dormant volcano within its boundaries, the park covers an area of , of w ...

and Polipoli Springs State Recreation Area.

Conservation

The Maui ʻalauahioʻs range is restricted and threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

. Many factors contribute towards its habitat loss, including degradation from feral ungulates, and the introduction of invasive plants, like

strawberry guava ''Psidium cattleyanum'' (World Plants: ''Psidium cattleianum''), commonly known as Cattley guava, strawberry guava or cherry guava, is a small tree ( tall) in the Myrtaceae (myrtle) family. The species is named in honour of English horticulturis ...

, that impact habitat diversity and quality. The species is also limited to higher elevations due to its high susceptibility to

avian malaria Avian malaria is a parasitic disease of birds, caused by parasite species belonging to the genera ''Plasmodium'' and '' Hemoproteus'' (phylum Apicomplexa, class Haemosporidia, family Plasmoiidae). The disease is transmitted by a dipteran vector in ...

, with a 75% mortality rate after exposure to an infected mosquito bite.

References

External links

Species factsheet
- BirdLife International *
Videos, photos, and sounds
- Internet Bird Collection

Paroreomyza Hawaiian honeycreepers Endemic birds of Hawaii Endangered fauna of Hawaii Birds described in 1889 Taxa named by Scott Barchard Wilson Species that are or were threatened by habitat loss Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{fringillidae-stub