| Wood harrier Temporal range: Late Holocene | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Accipitriformes |
| Family: | Accipitridae |
| Genus: | Circus |
| Species: | †C. dossenus |
| Binomial name | |
| †Circus dossenus | |
The wood harrier or mime harrier (Circus dossenus) is an extinct bird of prey which lived in Hawaii during the Holocene. This small, short-winged harrier inhabited the forests of Molokai and Oahu where it presumably hunted for small birds and insects.
When compared to extant species of the genus Circus, the wood harrier was a small harrier. It had rather short wings but long legs and was even outsized by the small pied harrier and Montagu's harrier. [1] [2]
The habitat of the wood harrier consisted of forests, where it hunted for insects or small birds such as honeycreepers, since there were no terrestrial mammals before the arrival of the Polynesians in Hawaii. Due to its habitat which is unusual for harriers and because of its small prey, it developed shorter wings and a smaller body (rather resembling an Accipiter or the stilt owls Grallistrix ), making it a typical example of insular dwarfism. [3]
The wood harrier was presumably restricted to the islands of Oahu and Molokai, since there are no records from other Hawaiian islands. It probably became extinct due to habitat degradation and the introduction of the Pacific rat by early Polynesians. Since the wood harrier was most likely a ground breeder, it might have been affected severely by the colonization of Hawaii. [4]
In 1981, Helen F. James and her husband Storrs L. Olson first discovered remains of a bird they believed to be an Accipiter because of its proportions. This misidentification was also due to the poor material, consisting only of a few bones. They finally rejected their identification in 1991 after they had examined several other subfossil records of the bird and finally placed it in the genus Circus . They named it dossenus, explaining the name as follows: “Latin, dossenus, a clown or jester, without which one cannot have a circus; especially applicable here because the species initially fooled us as to its generic placement.” They noted that the wide global extension of Circus would support this placement and added that there had been sightings of northern harriers in Hawaii so that the evolution of a Hawaiian species of harrier would indeed seem plausible. [4]
The ʻelepaios are three species of monarch flycatcher in the genus Chasiempis. They are endemic to the Hawaiian Islands, and were formerly considered conspecific. They measure 14 cm long and weigh 12–18 g. One species inhabits the Big Island, another Oʻahu and the third Kauaʻi. Being one of the most adaptable native birds of Hawaiʻi, no subspecies have yet become extinct, though two have become quite rare.
Located about 2300 miles (3680 km) from the nearest continental shore, the Hawaiian Islands are the most isolated group of islands on the planet. The plant and animal life of the Hawaiian archipelago is the result of early, very infrequent colonizations of arriving species and the slow evolution of those species—in isolation from the rest of the world's flora and fauna—over a period of at least 5 million years. As a consequence, Hawai'i is home to a large number of endemic species. The radiation of species described by Charles Darwin in the Galapagos Islands which was critical to the formulation of his theory of evolution is far exceeded in the more isolated Hawaiian Islands.
The moa-nalo are a group of extinct aberrant, goose-like ducks that lived on the larger Hawaiian Islands, except Hawaiʻi itself, in the Pacific. They were the major herbivores on most of these islands until they became extinct after human settlement.
The nēnē-nui or wood-walking goose is an extinct species of goose that once inhabited Maui and possibly Kauaʻi, Oʻahu and perhaps Molokaʻi in the Hawaiian Islands. It is known from a large number of subfossil bones found in Holocene cave sediments.
The Réunion harrier or Réunion marsh harrier is a bird of prey belonging to the marsh harrier group of harriers. It is now found only on the Indian Ocean island of Réunion, although fossil material from Mauritius has been referred to this species. It is known locally as the papangue or pied jaune. The Malagasy harrier of Madagascar and the Comoro Islands was previously treated as a subspecies of this bird but is increasingly regarded as a separate species. The Réunion harrier appears to be declining in numbers and it is classed as an endangered species.
Kokia cookei is a small, deciduous tree commonly known as the kokiʻo, Molokaʻi treecotton, Cooke's kokiʻo, or Molokaʻi kokiʻo.
Ciridops is an extinct genus of Hawaiian honeycreeper species that occurred in prehistoric and historic times on the Hawaiian islands of Hawaii, Molokai, Kauai and Oahu. This genus was created in 1892 by Alfred Newton in an article published by the journal Nature on the basis of the ʻula-ʻai-hawane, which was named Fringilla anna by Sanford B. Dole in 1879.
The Oʻahu ʻamakihi is a species of Hawaiian honeycreeper in the family Fringillidae. The male is rich yellow below, sharply contrasted with greenish upper parts. Females are duller and have two prominent wing-bars. It has a total length of approximately 4.5 inches (11 cm). It is endemic to the island of Oʻahu in Hawaiʻi, and is likely the only surviving honeycreeper endemic to the island.
Hemignathus is a Hawaiian honeycreeper genus in the subfamily Carduelinae of the finch family, Fringillidae.
The nukupuʻu is a group of critically endangeredspecies of Hawaiian honeycreeper in the family Fringillidae. There are no recent confirmed records for any of the species and they may be extinct or functionally extinct. Habitat was dense mesic and wet forest of ʻōhiʻa lehua and koa at altitudes of 3,300–6,600 feet (1,000–2,000 m).
The ʻākohekohe, or crested honeycreeper, is a species of Hawaiian honeycreeper. It is endemic to the island of Maui in Hawaiʻi. The ʻākohekohe is susceptible to mosquito‐transmitted avian malaria and only breeds in high‐elevation wet forests.
Rhodacanthis is an extinct genus of Hawaiian honeycreepers commonly known as koa finches. All four species were endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. Members of this genus were granivores, with bills adapted to the seeds and pods of legumes. The two species that became extinct in the 1890s, R. flaviceps and R. palmeri, inhabited upper elevation mesic forests dominated by koa (Acacia koa) on the island of Hawaiʻi. Both were large birds; R. flaviceps measured 19 cm (7.5 in), while R. palmeri was 23 cm (9.1 in) in length. The combination of a giant bill with brightly colored plumage gave the males a very striking appearance. Koa seeds were the preferred food for the two species, but caterpillars were taken if necessary. The two prehistoric species, R. forfex and R. litotes, were denizens of more lowland tropical dry forests and shrublands on Kauaʻi, Maui, and Oʻahu. It is speculated that koaiʻa was an important food source for both species, as their range did not overlap with that of koa. Kanaloa pods and ʻaʻaliʻi berries were probably also eaten in addition to the occasional caterpillar.
The highland finch is an extinct member of the Fringillidae and a Hawaiian honeycreeper which is known only from a few bones found in caves. It is the only member of the genus Orthiospiza. It was endemic to the high-elevation areas of Mount Haleakalā on the Hawaiian island of Maui. It has been speculated that they were pushed to extinction because of habitat loss. It is known only from fossil remains and likely became extinct before the first Europeans arrived in 1778.
The wahi grosbeak or Oʻahu grosbeak is a prehistoric species of Hawaiian honeycreeper. The wahi grosbeak was endemic to dry forests on the Hawaiian islands of Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, and Maui. Based on the thickness of its bill it fed on seeds easier to crack than those of the naio, on which the Kona grosbeak fed. The species was already extinct when Europeans landed on the island. Being only known from fossils, its behavior and the exact reasons for its extinction are essentially unknown. Its fossils have been found throughout the islands, but were present in higher concentrations in caves. The bird was smaller than the related King Kong grosbeak by 2 inches (5.1 cm). It had a total length of 9 inches (23 cm).
The King Kong grosbeak or giant grosbeak is a prehistoric species of Hawaiian honeycreeper, that was endemic to Hawaiʻi. It had the largest beak of the three Chloridops species known to have existed. The King Kong grosbeak was described from fossils found at Barber's Point and Ulupau Head on the island of Oʻahu. It was 11 inches (28 cm) long, making it one of the largest Hawaiian honeycreepers. The osteology of the mandible strongly suggests that C. regiskongi was a sister-taxon of Rhodacanthis.
Hawaiian honeycreepers are a group of small, passerine birds endemic to Hawaiʻi. They are closely related to the rosefinches in the genus Carpodacus, but many species have evolved features unlike those present in any other finch. Their great morphological diversity is the result of adaptive radiation in an insular environment. Many have been driven to extinction since the first humans arrived in Hawaii, with extinctions increasing over the last 2 centuries following European discovery of the islands, with habitat destruction and especially invasive species being the main causes.
Drepanidini is a tribe of cardueline finches containing the Hawaiian honeycreepers. It was formerly considered one of three Hawaiian honeycreeper tribes, and restricted to the genera Ciridops, Drepanis, Himatione, Melamprosops, and Palmeria, most of which are nectarivores with brightly-colored or boldly-patterned plumage and songs containing nasal squeaks and whistles. However, as these three tribes were each para- or polyphyletic, and as Hawaiian honeycreepers are no longer treated as their own subfamily or family, Drepanidini is now typically used for all Hawaiian honeycreepers.
Xestospiza fastigialis is an extinct species of bird with a ridge-shape bill that was described on the basis of fossils. It was possibly an insectivore, populating the Hawaiian Islands of Oahu, Molokai and Maui.
The Oʻahu moa-nalo is one of two species of moa-nalo in the genus Thambetochen. Moa-nalo are a group of extinct, flightless, large goose-like ducks, which evolved in the Hawaiian Islands of the North Pacific Ocean.