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Ou (bird)
Encyclopedia
The ōū (Psittirostra psittacea), is a critically endangered
species of finch
in the Hawaiian honeycreeper
subfamily, Drepanidinae, that is endemic to the Hawaii
an islands. There are no recent records, and it may be extinct
.
The ōū is a large, plump forest bird measuring 18 centimetres (7.1 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. Ōū has a pink, finch-like bill and pink legs.
Its unique bill was apparently adapted for feeding on the fruit
s of the ieie (Freycinetia arborea
) vine, although when the fruiting season ended the ōū readily moved both up the slope and downslope in search of other foods, both native and introduced. In addition to fruits, it feeds on insect
s, and buds and blossoms of the ōhia 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.
declined precipitously from the turn of the 20th century. The last recorded sighting was in 1989 on Kauai
. It is almost certainly extinct there, but unconfirmed reports occasionally are received from the areas above the Kīlauea
volcano on the island of Hawaii
. As a consequence, it is retained as critically endangered by BirdLife International
(and thereby IUCN) until it is proven to be extinct beyond reasonable doubt. The largest and most secure population above Waiākea
were driven from its habitat in 1984 when the area was devastated by a lava
flow from Mauna Loa
. The ōū was restricted to the mid-elevation ōhia lehua (Metrosideros polymorpha
) forests of the Big Island and the Alakai Wilderness Preserve on Kauai. More recently it became restricted to ōhia lehua forest.
The ōū 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 bract
s and fruit of the ieie (Freycinetia arborea
). This probably was the species' undoing, as it thus came in contact with mosquito
es 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.
. The Kauai Forest Birds Recovery Plan was published in 1983 and the Hawaii Forest Birds Recovery Plan was published in 1984. These recovery plans recommend active land management, controlling the spread of introduced plants and animals, closely monitoring new land activity or development to prevent further destruction of forest bird habitat, and the establishment of captive propagation and sperm bank programs. The ōū was last seen in the Olaa area of the Big Island
. Today this area is protected by a multiparty group including state, federal, and private entities.
Critically endangered
Version 2010.3 of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species identified 3744 Critically Endangered species, subspecies and varieties, stocks and subpopulations.Critically Endangered by kingdom:*1993 Animalia*2 Fungi*1745 Plantae*4 Protista-References:...
species of finch
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, Drepanidinae, that is endemic to the 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...
an islands. There are no recent records, and it may be extinct
Holocene extinction event
The Holocene extinction refers to the extinction of species during the present Holocene epoch . The large number of extinctions span numerous families of plants and animals including mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and arthropods; a sizeable fraction of these extinctions are occurring in the...
.
Description
Behavior
The breeding biology of this bird is unknown, although juveniles have been seen in June, suggesting a March to May breeding season. The ōū’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 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 of the ieie (Freycinetia arborea
Freycinetia arborea
The Ieie is a densely branched, brittle, woody climber in the screwpalm family, Pandanaceae that is endemic to the Pacific Islands. Ieie is found in moist forest on the Hawaiian, Marquesas, Austral, Society, and Cook Islands. It grows into the forest canopy, attaching itself to a host tree using...
) vine, although when the fruiting season ended the ōū readily moved both up the slope and downslope in search of other foods, both native and introduced. In addition to fruits, it feeds on 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, and buds and blossoms of the 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...
). 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 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...
declined precipitously from the turn of the 20th century. The last recorded sighting was in 1989 on Kauai
Kauai
Kauai or Kauai, known as Tauai in the ancient Kaua'i dialect, is geologically the oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands. With an area of , it is the fourth largest of the main islands in the Hawaiian archipelago, and the 21st largest island in the United States. Known also as the "Garden Isle",...
. It is almost certainly extinct there, but unconfirmed reports occasionally are received from the areas above the Kīlauea
Kilauea
Kīlauea is a volcano in the Hawaiian Islands, and one of five shield volcanoes that together form the island of Hawaii. Kīlauea means "spewing" or "much spreading" in the Hawaiian language, referring to its frequent outpouring of lava. The Puu Ōō cone has been continuously erupting in the eastern...
volcano on the island of Hawaii
Hawaii (island)
The Island of Hawaii, also called the Big Island or Hawaii Island , is a volcanic island in the North Pacific Ocean...
. As a consequence, it is retained as critically endangered by BirdLife International
BirdLife International
BirdLife International is a global Partnership of conservation organisations that strives to conserve birds, their habitats and global biodiversity, working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural resources...
(and thereby IUCN) until it is proven to be extinct beyond reasonable doubt. The largest and most secure population above Waiākea
Waiakea
Waiākea is an ancient subdivision in the Hilo District of the Big Island of Hawaii, located in the area of .-Origin:The name comes from wai ākea in the Hawaiian Language meaning "broad waters", and sometimes what is now called Hilo Bay was called Waiākea Bay.Waiākea is home to many and has its own...
were driven from its habitat in 1984 when the area was devastated by a lava
Lava
Lava refers both to molten rock expelled by a volcano during an eruption and the resulting rock after solidification and cooling. This molten rock is formed in the interior of some planets, including Earth, and some of their satellites. When first erupted from a volcanic vent, lava is a liquid at...
flow from Mauna Loa
Mauna Loa
Mauna Loa is one of five volcanoes that form the Island of Hawaii in the U.S. state of Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean, and the largest on Earth in terms of volume and area covered. It is an active shield volcano, with a volume estimated at approximately , although its peak is about lower than that...
. The ōū was restricted to the mid-elevation 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...
) forests of the Big Island and the Alakai Wilderness Preserve on Kauai. More recently it became restricted to ōhia lehua forest.
The ōū 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
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
, 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 bract
Bract
In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis, or cone scale. Bracts are often different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of a different color, shape, or texture...
s and fruit of the ieie (Freycinetia arborea
Freycinetia arborea
The Ieie is a densely branched, brittle, woody climber in the screwpalm family, Pandanaceae that is endemic to the Pacific Islands. Ieie is found in moist forest on the Hawaiian, Marquesas, Austral, Society, and Cook Islands. It grows into the forest canopy, attaching itself to a host tree using...
). This probably was the species' undoing, as it thus came in contact with mosquito
Mosquito
Mosquitoes are members of a family of nematocerid flies: the Culicidae . The word Mosquito is from the Spanish and Portuguese for little fly...
es transmitting avian malaria
Avian malaria
Avian malaria is a parasitic disease of birds.-Etiology:Avian malaria is most notably caused by Plasmodium relictum, a protist that infects birds in tropical regions...
and fowlpox
Fowlpox
Fowlpox is a worldwide disease of poultry caused by viruses of the family Poxviridae and the genus Avipoxvirus. The viruses causing fowlpox are distinct from one another but antigenically similar, possible hosts including chickens, turkeys, quail, canaries, pigeons, and many other species of...
, 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 ōū was listed as an endangered species in 1967 under the Endangered Species ActEndangered 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...
. The Kauai Forest Birds Recovery Plan was published in 1983 and the Hawaii Forest Birds Recovery Plan was published in 1984. These recovery plans recommend active land management, controlling the spread of introduced plants and animals, closely monitoring new land activity or development to prevent further destruction of forest bird habitat, and the establishment of captive propagation and sperm bank programs. The ōū was last seen in the Olaa area of the Big Island
Hawaii (island)
The Island of Hawaii, also called the Big Island or Hawaii Island , is a volcanic island in the North Pacific Ocean...
. Today this area is protected by a multiparty group including state, federal, and private entities.
External links
- BirdLife Species Factsheet
- Audubon WatchList
- USFWS
- University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (not in english), account in HawaiʻianHawaiian languageThe Hawaiian language is a Polynesian language that takes its name from Hawaii, the largest island in the tropical North Pacific archipelago where it developed. Hawaiian, along with English, is an official language of the state of Hawaii...
- 3D view of specimens RMNH 90244, RMNH 90245, RMNH 110.017 and RMNH 110.018 at NaturalisNaturalisNaturalis is the national natural history museum of the Netherlands, based in Leiden. It originated from the merger of the Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie and the Rijksmuseum van Geologie en Mineralogie in 1984. In 1986 it was decided that the museum had to become a public museum and a new...
, Leiden (requires QuickTimeQuickTimeQuickTime is an extensible proprietary multimedia framework developed by Apple Inc., capable of handling various formats of digital video, picture, sound, panoramic images, and interactivity. The classic version of QuickTime is available for Windows XP and later, as well as Mac OS X Leopard and...
browser plugin).