Maui Parrotbill
Encyclopedia
The Maui Parrotbill or kiwikiu (Pseudonestor xanthophrys) is a species of finch
in the Hawaiian honeycreeper
subfamily
, Drepanidinae, that is endemic to Maui
in Hawaii
. It can only be found in 50 square kilometres (19.3 sq mi) of mesic and wet forests at 1200–2150 m (3,937–7,053.8 ft) on the windward slopes of Haleakalā
. This species is critically endangered, with an estimated population of only 500 individuals. Fossil evidence indicates that the bird could at one time be seen in dry forests
at elevations as low as 200–300 m (656.2–984.3 ), as well as on the island of Molokai
s, measuring 14 centimetres (5.5 in) and with a mass of 20–25 g (0.705479242102239–0.881849052627799 oz). The bird is yellow on the breast, cheeks, and belly, olive-green on the wings, crown, tail, and back, and has a bright yellow supercilium
. The upper mandible
of the bird's beak
is hooked and dark gray, while the lower mandible is chisel-like and pale ivory. Males are longer-winged, larger-billed, and heavier than females. Juveniles are gray-green above and light gray ventrally.
. It uses its large beak and powerful jaw muscles to remove bark
and wood from small tree
s and shrub
s such as ākala (Rubus hawaiensis
), kanawao (Broussaisia arguta), and ōhia lehua (Metrosideros polymorpha
), eating the insect
s underneath. The Maui parrotbill also bites open fruit
s in search of insects. It is fond of moth
pupae and beetle
larvae
. Pairs of birds forage in a territory of 2.3 hectares (5.7 acre), which they must defend from competing parrotbills.
and breeds between November and June. Females build a cup-shaped nest out of Usnea
lichen
s and pūkiawe (Styphelia
tameiameiae) twigs, placing it 12 metres (39.4 ft) above the forest floor. Pairs raise a single nestling per season. The female incubates it for 16 days. Fledglings remain with their parents for five to eight months as they learn how to forage.
) and small patches of ōhia-koa (Acacia koa) mesic forest. Its habitat exhibits a dense understory of small tree
s, shrub
s, epiphyte
s, fern
s, and sedge
s, centered between Puu Alaea, Kuhiwa Valley, Lake Waianapanapa
, and upper Kīpahulu Valley
, an area less than 2020 hectares (4,991.5 acre), at elevations of 1310–2070 m (4,297.9–6,791.3 ft).
is mesic and wet forests. It is threatened by habitat loss. Much of the land in the parrotbill's historic range was changed for agricultural purposes, timber production and animal grazing. Introduced pests, such as mosquitoes, rats, and feral ungulates directly and indirectly affect the parrotbill's survival. Mosquitoes spread avian malaria, which the parrotbill is susceptible to, rats prey upon the birds' eggs and young, and feral pigs uproot the low-lying vegetation that the parrotbill forages in. Pigs additionally create wallows, which serve as breeding grounds for avian malaria-infected mosquitoes.
The Maui parrotbill was listed as an endangered species in 1967 under the Endangered Species Act
. It is also part of the Maui-Molokai Bird Recovery Plan in 1984, which led to fencing areas of East Maui and removing feral ungulates. The recovery plan also included a captive breeding program, which produced its first chick in 2003. Field research is primarily done by the Maui Forest Bird Recovery Project.
A 2009 survey of the Waikamoi Preserve estimates that there are about 20 birds per square kilometer in the windward preserve near the summit of Haleakala, indicating that the population is holding steady or possibly increasing. A contributing factor is that native shrub cover in Waikamoi has tripled in the past 15 years. A previous study found about half the density. The preserve contains about 25 percent of the population, while most of the rest is in the Hanawi Natural Area Reserve. The birds were once found throughout Maui and Molokai.
Finch
The true finches are passerine birds in the family Fringillidae. They are predominantly seed-eating songbirds. Most are native to the Northern Hemisphere, but one subfamily is endemic to the Neotropics, one to the Hawaiian Islands, and one subfamily – monotypic at genus level – is found...
in the Hawaiian honeycreeper
Hawaiian honeycreeper
Hawaiian honeycreepers are small, passerine birds endemic to Hawaii. Some authorities still categorize this group as a family Drepanididae, but in recent years, most authorities consider them a subfamily, Drepanidinae, of Fringillidae, the finch family...
subfamily
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
, Drepanidinae, that is endemic to Maui
Maui
The island of Maui is the second-largest of the Hawaiian Islands at and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is part of the state of Hawaii and is the largest of Maui County's four islands, bigger than Lānai, Kahoolawe, and Molokai. In 2010, Maui had a population of 144,444,...
in Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
. It can only be found in 50 square kilometres (19.3 sq mi) of mesic and wet forests at 1200–2150 m (3,937–7,053.8 ft) on the windward slopes of Haleakalā
Haleakala
Haleakalā , or the East Maui Volcano, is a massive shield volcano that forms more than 75% of the Hawaiian Island of Maui. The western 25% of the island is formed by the West Maui Mountains.- History :...
. This species is critically endangered, with an estimated population of only 500 individuals. Fossil evidence indicates that the bird could at one time be seen in dry forests
Hawaiian tropical dry forests
The Hawaiian tropical dry forests are a tropical dry broadleaf forest ecoregion in the Hawaiian Islands. They cover an area of on the leeward side of the main islands and the summits of Niihau and Kahoolawe. These forests are either seasonal or sclerophyllous. Annual rainfall is less than and...
at elevations as low as 200–300 m (656.2–984.3 ), as well as on the island of Molokai
Molokai
Molokai or Molokai is an island in the Hawaiian archipelago. It is 38 by 10 miles in size with a land area of , making it the fifth largest of the main Hawaiian Islands and the 27th largest island in the United States. It lies east of Oahu across the 25-mile wide Kaiwi Channel and north of...
Description
The Maui parrotbill is one of the larger Hawaiian honeycreeperHawaiian honeycreeper
Hawaiian honeycreepers are small, passerine birds endemic to Hawaii. Some authorities still categorize this group as a family Drepanididae, but in recent years, most authorities consider them a subfamily, Drepanidinae, of Fringillidae, the finch family...
s, measuring 14 centimetres (5.5 in) and with a mass of 20–25 g (0.705479242102239–0.881849052627799 oz). The bird is yellow on the breast, cheeks, and belly, olive-green on the wings, crown, tail, and back, and has a bright yellow supercilium
Supercilium
The supercilium is a plumage feature found on the heads of some bird species. It is a stripe which runs from the base of the bird's beak above its eye, finishing somewhere towards the rear of the bird's head. Also known as an "eyebrow", it is distinct from the eyestripe, which is a line which runs...
. The upper mandible
Mandible
The mandible pronunciation or inferior maxillary bone forms the lower jaw and holds the lower teeth in place...
of the bird's beak
Beak
The beak, bill or rostrum is an external anatomical structure of birds which is used for eating and for grooming, manipulating objects, killing prey, fighting, probing for food, courtship and feeding young...
is hooked and dark gray, while the lower mandible is chisel-like and pale ivory. Males are longer-winged, larger-billed, and heavier than females. Juveniles are gray-green above and light gray ventrally.
Song
Its call is a short “chip”, which is similar to the Maui Nui Alauahio, chirped every three to five seconds. It song consists of “cheer” notes that are slower and richer than the [[ʻAkepa|ākepa]]. It also has a short song that sounds like “cheer-wee”.Diet
The Maui parrotbill is an insectivoreInsectivore
An insectivore is a type of carnivore with a diet that consists chiefly of insects and similar small creatures. An alternate term is entomophage, which also refers to the human practice of eating insects....
. It uses its large beak and powerful jaw muscles to remove bark
Bark
Bark is the outermost layers of stems and roots of woody plants. Plants with bark include trees, woody vines and shrubs. Bark refers to all the tissues outside of the vascular cambium and is a nontechnical term. It overlays the wood and consists of the inner bark and the outer bark. The inner...
and wood from small tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
s and shrub
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
s such as ākala (Rubus hawaiensis
Rubus hawaiensis
Rubus hawaiensis, also called the Ākala, is a species of Rubus endemic to Hawaii. It is found on the islands of Kauai, Molokai, Maui, and Hawaii in mesic to wet forest at elevations of...
), kanawao (Broussaisia arguta), and ōhia lehua (Metrosideros polymorpha
Metrosideros polymorpha
The ōhia lehua is a species of flowering evergreen tree in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, that is endemic to the six largest islands of Hawaii. It is a highly variable tree, being tall in favorable situations, and much smaller when growing in boggy soils or on basalt...
), eating the insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s underneath. The Maui parrotbill also bites open fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
s in search of insects. It is fond of moth
Moth
A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...
pupae and beetle
Beetle
Coleoptera is an order of insects commonly called beetles. The word "coleoptera" is from the Greek , koleos, "sheath"; and , pteron, "wing", thus "sheathed wing". Coleoptera contains more species than any other order, constituting almost 25% of all known life-forms...
larvae
Larvae
In Roman mythology, lemures were shades or spirits of the restless or malignant dead, and are probably cognate with an extended sense of larvae as disturbing or frightening...
. Pairs of birds forage in a territory of 2.3 hectares (5.7 acre), which they must defend from competing parrotbills.
Breeding
The Maui parrotbill is monogamousMonogamy
Monogamy /Gr. μονός+γάμος - one+marriage/ a form of marriage in which an individual has only one spouse at any one time. In current usage monogamy often refers to having one sexual partner irrespective of marriage or reproduction...
and breeds between November and June. Females build a cup-shaped nest out of Usnea
Usnea
Usnea is the generic and scientific name for several species of lichen in the family Parmeliaceae, that generally grow hanging from tree branches, resembling grey or greenish hair. It is sometimes referred to commonly as Old Man's Beard, Beard Lichen, or Treemoss...
lichen
Lichen
Lichens are composite organisms consisting of a symbiotic organism composed of a fungus with a photosynthetic partner , usually either a green alga or cyanobacterium...
s and pūkiawe (Styphelia
Styphelia
Styphelia is a genus of shrubs in the heather family, Ericaceae. The genus is endemic to Australia and the Pacific Islands.Species include:*Styphelia adscendens R.Br. – Golden Heath...
tameiameiae) twigs, placing it 12 metres (39.4 ft) above the forest floor. Pairs raise a single nestling per season. The female incubates it for 16 days. Fledglings remain with their parents for five to eight months as they learn how to forage.
Habitat and Distribution
The Maui Parrotbill currently lives only in undisturbed wet forests dominated by ōhia lehua (Metrosideros polymorphaMetrosideros polymorpha
The ōhia lehua is a species of flowering evergreen tree in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, that is endemic to the six largest islands of Hawaii. It is a highly variable tree, being tall in favorable situations, and much smaller when growing in boggy soils or on basalt...
) and small patches of ōhia-koa (Acacia koa) mesic forest. Its habitat exhibits a dense understory of small tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
s, shrub
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
s, epiphyte
Epiphyte
An epiphyte is a plant that grows upon another plant non-parasitically or sometimes upon some other object , derives its moisture and nutrients from the air and rain and sometimes from debris accumulating around it, and is found in the temperate zone and in the...
s, fern
Fern
A fern is any one of a group of about 12,000 species of plants belonging to the botanical group known as Pteridophyta. Unlike mosses, they have xylem and phloem . They have stems, leaves, and roots like other vascular plants...
s, and sedge
Cyperaceae
Cyperaceae are a family of monocotyledonous graminoid flowering plants known as sedges, which superficially resemble grasses or rushes. The family is large, with some 5,500 species described in about 109 genera. These species are widely distributed, with the centers of diversity for the group...
s, centered between Puu Alaea, Kuhiwa Valley, Lake Waianapanapa
Wai'anapanapa State Park
Waianapanapa State Park is a area in Hana, Maui, Hawaii, at the end of Waianapanapa Road off Hana Highway, east of Kahului. The park includes views a seabird colonies, anchialine pools, native hala forest, caves, heiau , a natural arch, sea stacks, blowholes and a small black sand beach....
, and upper Kīpahulu Valley
Kipahulu
Kīpahulu is a village in the Hāna district of Maui, Hawaii. It is a sustainable farm community located in a remote area in the southeast part of Maui.-Location and access:...
, an area less than 2020 hectares (4,991.5 acre), at elevations of 1310–2070 m (4,297.9–6,791.3 ft).
Hawaiian name
As far as anyone can determine, Pseudonestor xanthophrys had not historically had a common name in the Hawaiian language. The name Hawaiian kiwikiu was developed by the Hawaiian Lexicon Committee, who was contacted by the Maui Forest Bird Recovery Project to select an appropriate name. A naming ceremony was held in the bird's habitat in September 2010. The "kiwi" part of the name means bent or curved (e.g., sickle-shaped), which refers to the shape of the bill of this bird. "Kiu" has a double meaning, referring both to the bird's secretive ways and to a cold, chilly wind, such as the breezes in the bird's habitat.Conservation
The Maui parrotbill's natural habitatHabitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
is mesic and wet forests. It is threatened by habitat loss. Much of the land in the parrotbill's historic range was changed for agricultural purposes, timber production and animal grazing. Introduced pests, such as mosquitoes, rats, and feral ungulates directly and indirectly affect the parrotbill's survival. Mosquitoes spread avian malaria, which the parrotbill is susceptible to, rats prey upon the birds' eggs and young, and feral pigs uproot the low-lying vegetation that the parrotbill forages in. Pigs additionally create wallows, which serve as breeding grounds for avian malaria-infected mosquitoes.
The Maui parrotbill was listed as an endangered species in 1967 under the Endangered Species Act
Endangered Species Act
The Endangered Species Act of 1973 is one of the dozens of United States environmental laws passed in the 1970s. Signed into law by President Richard Nixon on December 28, 1973, it was designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of economic growth and...
. It is also part of the Maui-Molokai Bird Recovery Plan in 1984, which led to fencing areas of East Maui and removing feral ungulates. The recovery plan also included a captive breeding program, which produced its first chick in 2003. Field research is primarily done by the Maui Forest Bird Recovery Project.
A 2009 survey of the Waikamoi Preserve estimates that there are about 20 birds per square kilometer in the windward preserve near the summit of Haleakala, indicating that the population is holding steady or possibly increasing. A contributing factor is that native shrub cover in Waikamoi has tripled in the past 15 years. A previous study found about half the density. The preserve contains about 25 percent of the population, while most of the rest is in the Hanawi Natural Area Reserve. The birds were once found throughout Maui and Molokai.
External links
- BirdLife Species Factsheet.Oi Magazine]]| |volume=10 |issue=2 |month=April |year=2006}}
- Maui Parrotbill videos, photos and sounds on the Internet Bird Collection