ʻŌʻū
| ʻŌʻū | |
|---|---|
| |
| Keulemans illustration | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Fringillidae |
| Subfamily: | Carduelinae |
| Genus: | Psittirostra Temminck, 1820 |
| Species: | P. psittacea
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| Binomial name | |
| Psittirostra psittacea (Gmelin, 1789)
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| Black: Extinct Green: Current range | |
The ʻōʻū (pronounced [ˈʔoːʔuː][3]) (Psittirostra psittacea) is a species of Hawaiian honeycreeper endemic to the Hawaiian islands. It has a dark green back and olive green underparts; males have a yellow head while females have a green head. Its unusual beak seems to be adapted to feeding on the fruits of Freycinetia arborea. It has a strong flight which it uses to fly considerable distances in search of this vine, but it will eat other fruits, buds, flowers and insects.
Although formerly widespread and present throughout the island group, numbers declined dramatically during the twentieth century. The bird is listed by the
Description
The ʻōʻū is a large, plump forest bird measuring 17 centimetres (6.7 in) in length. Males have a bright yellow head, dark green back, and an olive-green belly. Females are duller with an olive-green head. The ʻōʻū has a pink, finch-like bill and pink legs. It is very similar in morphology to a
Behavior
The breeding biology of this bird is unknown, although juveniles have been seen in June, suggesting a March to May breeding season. The ʻōʻū’s call is an ascending or descending whistle that may break into a sweet and distinct canary-like song.
Its unique bill was apparently adapted for feeding on the fruits of the ʻieʻie (Freycinetia arborea) vine, although when the fruiting season ended the ʻōʻū readily moved both up the slope and downslope in search of other foods, both native and introduced. In addition to fruits, it feeds on insects, and buds and blossoms of the ʻōhiʻa lehua (Metrosideros polymorpha). It was known to have been a nomadic forager that made strong flights to follow seasonally available fruit crops across a broad elevational gradient.
Status
Though it was formerly widespread on the six largest islands of that group, this
The ʻōʻū is one of the most mobile species of Hawaiian honeycreepers. Although it was not very active and usually slow-moving, it had remarkable stamina and when flying, would cover great distances. It is one of the few Hawaiian endemics that did occur on all the major islands at one time and did not differentiate into subspecies, suggesting that birds crossed between islands on a regular basis. Also, there was considerable seasonal movement between different altitudes according to the availability of the species' favorite food, the bracts and fruit of the ʻieʻie (Freycinetia arborea). This probably was the species' undoing, as it thus came in contact with mosquitoes transmitting avian malaria and fowlpox, which are exceptionally lethal to most Hawaiian honeycreepers. Other significant threats to this species are habitat loss and introduced predators. Island species are particularly vulnerable to one or more of these threats because of their low numbers and restricted geographical distributions.
Protection
The ʻōʻū was listed as an endangered species in 1967 under the