Bird name:

Akohekohe

Palmeria dolei

Order

PASSERIFORMES

Family

Finches (Fringillidae)

Code 4

AKOH

Code 6

PALDOL

ITIS

179587

Breeding Location:

Forest

Breeding Type:

Monogamous

Breeding Population:

Endangered

Egg Color:

Gray with brown spots or streaks

Number of Eggs:

1 - 2

Incubation Days:

Egg Incubator:

Female

Nest Material:

Sticks, twigs, moss, and lichen

Migration:

Nonmigratory

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General

Akohekohe: Medium honeycreeper, primarily black with a white or gray crested forehead. Orange eyering extends to an orange-red nape. Breast and throat feathers are gray-tipped, orange-tipped feathers scattered over rest of the body. Wings and tail have white edges. Sexes are similar. Juveniles lack the crest and colorful plumage and are gray-brown overall.

Range and Habitat

Akohekohe: Endemic to the island of Maui. Common in moist forests on the east slopes of Haleakala from 5,500' to 7,000'. Formerly found on West Maui and Molokai this bird is decreasing in numbers and it is estimated that there are 3,700 individuals remaining.

Breeding and Nesting

Akohekohe: They nest exclusively in the 'ohi'a tree. The female builds a cup-shaped nest of twigs and lays one or two gray eggs with brown spots and streaks. Incubation is carried out by the female for 17 days. Both parents feed the chicks, who fledge at around 21 days.

Foraging and Feeding

Akohekohe: Eats the flowers of the 'ohi'a trees that are high in the canopy. When the flowers are limited it will eat insects, fruit and nectar from other plants and even forage in the understory. They forage by hopping or running from tree to tree instead of flying.

Vocalization

Akohekohe: The song varies between a low chuckling "tjook tjook chouroup" to a "hur-hur-hur-gluk-gluk-gluk". The calls are a whistled "whee-o, wheeo" and a descending "tchew" which is often repeated.

Similar Species

Akohekohe: Not likely to be confused with any other species.

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Breast

The upper front part of a bird.

Crest

Tufts of feathers on the head of the bird.

Nape

Also called the hindneck or collar, it is the back of the neck where the head joins the body.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America