Hawaiʻi mamo | |
---|---|
Specimen | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Passeriformes |
Family: | Fringillidae |
Subfamily: | Carduelinae |
Genus: | Drepanis |
Species: | †D. pacifica |
Binomial name | |
†Drepanis pacifica (Gmelin, 1788) | |
The Hawaiʻi mamo (Drepanis pacifica) is an extinct species of Hawaiian honeycreeper. It was endemic to Hawaii Island. It became extinct due to habitat loss, mosquitoes, introduced predators such as the small Indian mongoose, and overcollecting.
The bird's natural habitat was limited to the Big Island (Hawaii Island). [3] [4] This bird averaged 9 inches (22.86 cm) in length. It was mostly black with bright yellow feathers on its rump, undertail coverts, shoulders, and legs. There was a white patch on the primaries. It had small, black eyes and was the centerpiece of portraits. It had a slightly decurved blackish bill, some three inches long. Juveniles may have been brown. [5]
This shy species lived in the forest canopy and fed particularly on nectar of lobelioids from the tree-plant's curved, tubular flowers. The mamo was said to favor feed on the hāhā plant, [4] [7] encompassing Cyanea and Clermontia spp. of lobelioids, but these are also commonly called ‘ōhā [8] and other authorities refer to the mamo's feeding plant as ‘ōhā, synonymous with ʻōhāhā. [9] [10] [11] [lower-alpha 1] [lower-alpha 2] There is anecdotal evidence they may have been partly insectivorous. [16] According to Henry C. Palmer, the bird was also fond of the berries of the hāhā, and ironically the berry juice could be made into birdlime. [17]
Its call was a long, plaintive whistle. [18] [lower-alpha 3]
The mamo was one of the most honored birds in pre-European Hawaiian society. Its yellow feathers were used to create capes and hats (featherwork) for royalty. [19] Feather collecting contributed to the bird's decline. The famous yellow cloak of Kamehameha I is estimated to have taken the reigns of eight monarchs and the golden feathers of 80,000 birds to complete. [19]
The natives caught the bird by noose or by birdlime, and would lure it by imitating its call. [20] The call is said to be "a single rather long and plaintive note" [18] so this may have been a song rather than a call. [4] The Hawaiian recipe for their sticky birdlime consisted of sap from breadfruit (Hawaiian : ʻulu ) [21] [22] [23] and lobelioids (ʻōhā). [21] [24]
The native feather-hunter (poe kawili) had developed (at the behest of King Kamehameha [22] [15] ) the practice of sparing and releasing any birdlime-caught birds with only a few (yellow) feathers to be harvested, namely the ʻōʻō and the mamo. [25] [26] However by the 19th century, the kapu against killing mamo and ʻōʻō was not being strictly observed and these birds were being eaten by natives, as ornithologist Henry W. Henshaw suspected, [15] and native historian David Malo has confirmed. [27] Henshaw attributes the acceleration towards extinction to adoption of shotgun-hunting over traditional birdliming. [15]
Due to their bright colors, the birds were also popular with European collectors.
European settlers changed the mamo's habitat to support agriculture and cattle ranching, which damaged the bird's food source. Cattle roamed loose in the forests, destroying the understory ecosystem. Small Indian mongooses were introduced to control rats, but they also preyed on native birds. Even though this was discovered early and was well known to the Hawaiians, the mamo quickly disappeared.
Introduced disease may have killed any birds that survived habitat destruction. There are many specimens of this bird in American and European museums. The bird had not been particularly scarce until the 1880's. [20] [28] But the last live specimen was obtained by Henry C. Palmer in 1892 (this birds has been reported as tame unafraid when captured; [20] Palmer's specimen fed on "sugar and water eagerly", and would stay perched on a twig in the tent [20] ). [29] [32] The last confirmed sighting dates to July 1898 near Kaumana on the Island of Hawaiʻi, as reported by a collector, Henry W. Henshaw, [33] Henshaw in correspondence to Rothschild revealed that when he spotted and he stalked a family of them, he actually shot and wounded one of them, though it escaped. [34] [35]
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The Hawaiian lobelioids are a group of flowering plants in the bellflower family, Campanulaceae, subfamily Lobelioideae, all of which are endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. This is the largest plant radiation in the Hawaiian Islands, and indeed the largest on any island archipelago, with over 125 species. The six genera involved can be broadly separated based on growth habit: Clermontia are typically branched shrubs or small trees, up to 7 metres (23 ft) tall, with fleshy fruits; Cyanea and Delissea are typically unbranched or branching only at the base, with a cluster of relatively broad leaves at the apex and fleshy fruits; Lobelia and Trematolobelia have long thin leaves down a single, non-woody stem and capsular fruits with wind-dispersed seeds; and the peculiar Brighamia have a short, thick stem with a dense cluster of broad leaves, elongate white flowers, and capsular fruits. The relationships among the genera and sections remains unsettled as of April 2022.
The Hawaiʻi ʻōʻō is a member of the extinct genus of the ʻōʻōs (Moho) within the extinct family Mohoidae. It was previously regarded as member of the Australo-Pacific honeyeaters (Meliphagidae).
The Bishop's ‘ō‘ō or Molokai ‘ō‘ō was the penultimate member of the extinct genus of the ‘ō‘ōs (Moho) within the extinct family Mohoidae. It was previously regarded as member of the Australo-Pacific honeyeaters (Meliphagidae). Lionel Walter Rothschild named it after Charles Reed Bishop, the founder of the Bishop Museum.
Mamo or woowoo is a common name for two species of extinct birds. Together with the extant ʻIʻiwi they make up the genus Drepanis. These nectarivorous finches were endemic to Hawaii but are now extinct.
The black mamo, also known as the hoa, is an extinct species of Hawaiian honeycreeper once endemic to the island of Molokai; there is also subfossil evidence of it having lived on Maui.
The greater ʻamakihi is an extinct species of Hawaiian honeycreeper in the subfamily Carduelinae of the family Fringillidae.
Hawaiian honeycreepers are a group of small birds endemic to Hawaiʻi. 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 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 two centuries following European discovery of the islands, with habitat destruction and especially invasive species being the main causes.
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Hawaiian feather helmets, known as mahiole in the Hawaiian language, were worn with feather cloaks. These were symbols of the highest rank reserved for the men of the aliʻi, the chiefly class of Hawaii. There are examples of this traditional headgear in museums around the world. At least sixteen of these helmets were collected during the voyages of Captain Cook. These helmets are made from a woven frame structure decorated with bird feathers and are examples of fine featherwork techniques. One of these helmets was included in a painting of Cook's death by Johann Zoffany.
Cyanea is a genus of flowering plants in the family Campanulaceae that are endemic to Hawaii. The name Cyanea in Hawaiian is hāhā.
Clermontia drepanomorpha is a rare species of flowering plant in the bellflower family known by the common name Kohala Mountain clermontia. It is one of several Hawaiian lobelioids in genus Clermontia that are known as `oha wai. This plant is endemic to Kohala, a volcano at the northern end of the island of Hawaii. This is a federally listed endangered species of the United States. It is a perennial tree that can be terrestrial or epiphytic and it grows in wet boggy forests.
Clermontia peleana is a rare species of flowering plant in the bellflower family known by the common name Pele clermontia. It is one of several Hawaiian lobelioids in genus Clermontia that are known as `oha wai. This plant is endemic to the island of Hawaii, where it is known from a few individuals. It is a federally listed endangered species of the United States.
Clermontia pyrularia is a rare species of flowering plant in the bellflower family known by the common names Hamakua clermontia and pear clermontia. It is one of several Hawaiian lobelioids in genus Clermontia that are known as ʻoha wai and haha. It is endemic to the island of Hawaiʻi, where there is one remaining wild population containing 15 individuals and several propagated individuals that have been planted in protected habitat. This is a federally listed endangered species of the United States.
Cyanea procera is a rare species of flowering plant in the bellflower family known by the common name Molokai cyanea. It is endemic to Hawaii, where it is known only from the island of Molokaʻi. It is a federally listed endangered species of the United States. Like other Cyanea it is known as haha in Hawaiian.
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Apart from the few 'o'o that were killed for specific purposes, the birds caught with bird lime were plucked of their yellow feathers without harm and set free to maintain a future supply. As the duller black feathers of the mamo were not used, it is probable that they were never killed wittingly.