Maui Nukupuu (Hemignathus affinis)
The drepanidine genus Hemignathus contains up to 16 species, depending on which author, which sometimes are named as ‚little green birds‘ colloquially, relating to the mainly olive green color of most of these species.
The genus is divided into four subgenera; Akialoa (large species with unusual long, downwardly bent beaks), Chlorodrepanis (small species with short, slightly bent beaks), Hemignathus (species with strongly downwardly bent beaks and the maxillary about twice the length of the mandibular beak), and Viridonia (a single species with a straight beak, actually not closely related to the other species).
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The Hawaiian name Nukupu’u literally means ‚nose [formed like a] hill‘ and relates to the form of the beak; the three species named as Nukupu’u (Hemignathus affinis, Hemignathus hanapepe Wilson, Hemignathus lucidus Lichtenstein) all shared downwardly bent beaks with a maxillary about twice as long as the mandibular beak. The birds used these strange beaks to probe the crevices of tree bark for insects and insect larvae.
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The Maui Nukupuu was last seen in 1967 in the Kipahulu Valley in the southeastern part of Maui – since then the species is considered extinct.
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The Maui Nukupuu, respectively perhaps a subspecies of it, is known also from subfossil remains found on the island of Moloka’i, Maui’s neighbor. [5][6]
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References:
[1] W. E. Banko: Rediscovery of Maui Nukupuu, Hemignathus lucidus affinis, and Sighting of Maui Parrotbill, Pseudonestor xanthophrys, Kipahulu Valley, Maui, Hawaii. Condor 70: 265-266. 1968
[2] D. Luther: Die ausgestorbenen Vögel der Welt. Westarp Wissenschaften 1986
[3] H. D. Pratt; P. L. Bruner; D. G. Berrett: A Field Guide to the Birds of Hawaii and the Tropical Pacific. Princeton University Press 1987
[4] E. Fuller: Extinct Birds. Penguin Books (England) 1987
[5] S. L. Olson; H. F. James: Descriptions of thirty-two new species of birds from the Hawaiian Islands: Part II. Passeriformes. Ornithological Monographs 45: 1-91. 1991
[6] Storrs L. Olson; Helen F. James: A specimen of Nuku pu’u (Aves: Drepanidini: Hemignathus lucidus) from the island of Hawai’i. Pacific Science 48(4): 331-338. 1994
[7] H. D. Pratt: The Hawaiian Honeycreepers: Drepanidinae. Oxford Univ. Pr. 2005
[8] J. P. Hume; M. Walters: Extinct Birds. Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 2012
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(public domain)
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edited: 05.04.2018