HAWAIIAN HONEYCREEPER

any of 23 species of birds found only in the forests of the Hawaiian Islands. They constitute the family Drepanididae, order Passeriformes. Most of the species are called by native names ( see amakihi; apapane; iiwi; mamo). Habitat destruction and the introduction of foreign birds and mammals has led to the extinction of at least 8 of the 23 species; most of the survivors are endangered. Numerous subspecies are known. Hawaiian honeycreepers differ in certain ways from American honeycreepers. Isolated in the mid-Pacific, they underwent a remarkable evolutionary radiation, diversifying in the manner of the better-known Darwin's finches in the Galpagos Islands. Those with thin bills and, usually, red-and-black plumage (sexes alike) are nectar-feeders; those with finchlike bills and, usually, greenish plumage (males often with orange or yellow markings) eat seeds, fruits, and insects; other species are intermediate between these two types. In most Hawaiian honeycreepers the tongue is troughlike and brush-tipped. The birds' size ranges from 10 to 20 cm (4 to 8 inches). Hawaiian honeycreepers usually have simple songs and make grassy nests.