Oahu branch walkers
| Oahu branch walkers | ||||||||||||
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Oahu branchcreeper ( Paroreomyza maculata ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Paroreomyza maculata | ||||||||||||
| ( Cabanis , 1850) |
The Oahu branch runner ( Paroreomyza maculata ) is an extremely rare or already extinct honeycreeper .
Systematics
The Oahu branch walker was first described in 1850 by Jean Louis Cabanis as himatione maculata . At the beginning of the 20th century, the branchcreeper species of Oʻahu , Kauaʻi , Hawaiʻi , Lānaʻi , Maui and Molokaʻi were classified in the genus Oreomyza . In 1901, Robert Cyril Layton Perkins created the genus Paroreomyza , which was adopted by George Campbell Munro in 1944 . Munro classified the Oahu knot as the nominate form Paroreomyza maculata maculata with three subspecies on Lanai, Molokai and Maui. The systematic that applies today is based on the work " A systematic analysis of the endemic avifauna of the Hawaiian Islands " by ornithologist Harold Douglas Pratt from 1979. According to Pratt, the genus Oreomystis applies to the species from Kauai and Hawaii and the genus Paroreomyza to the types of Oahu, Lanai, Molokai, and Maui.
description
The Oahu branch runner reaches a length of 11.3 to 12.9 centimeters. The plumage of the females and the young birds is dull olive green with two wide, lightly faded wing bands and a conspicuous light green eye stripe. The male's plumage is light olive. The yellow face is characterized by dark reins and a noticeable postocular stripe. The straight beak is dark brown on the top and light on the bottom. The wing bands are missing in the male.
distribution and habitat
The O'ahu'Alauahio is endemic to the Hawaiian -Insel O'ahu . It lives in evergreen forests and mixed forests with koa acacias or ironwoods of the Metrosideros polymorpha species at altitudes between 300 and 650 m. Its last known distribution area is limited to the valleys and slopes of the Ko'olau Mountains.
Way of life and food
Little is known about the way of life of the Oahu branch walker. He is probably diurnal. In January 1901 the only two nests were found in the Waiʻanae Range . Its diet apparently consists of molluscs and ground beetles .
status
The main cause of the decline in the Oahu branch runner is believed to be bird malaria introduced by mosquitoes . Part of the habitat in the North Halawa Valley has been destroyed by the construction of the Hawaii State Route H-3. The last documented sighting was on December 12, 1985 on the Poamoho Trail in the Ko'olau Mountains when two individuals were observed. Unconfirmed sightings in the following period are probably based on a mix-up with the Oahu-Amakihi ( Hemignathus flavus ), especially since official searches since the 1990s have remained unsuccessful.
literature
- Oxford University Press: The Hawaiian Honeycreepers: Drepanidinae (Bird Families of the World) (2005) - ISBN 0-19-854653-X
- Munro, George Campbell (1960): Birds of Hawaii . Charles E. Tuttle Co., Inc., Rutland VT - ISBN 0-8048-0063-4
Web links
- Paroreomyza maculata inthe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015.4. Listed by: BirdLife International, 2012. Retrieved December 3, 2015.
- Description ( Memento of August 10, 2005 in the Internet Archive ) (Engl.)
- Systematics of the Hawaiian "Creepers" Oreomystis and Paroreomyza (PDF file; 924 kB)
- Natural reserve - Paroreomyza maculata