Hawaiʻi ʻamakihi

The Hawaii Amakihi (Chlorodrepanis virens), also known as the Common Amakihi, is a species of Hawaiian honeycreeper.

Taxonomy
The Hawaii Amakihi was formerly placed in the genus Hemignathus but was assigned to the genus Chlorodrepanis based on the phylogenetic analysis of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences.

There are two recognized subspecies: C. v. wilsoni on Maui, Molokai, and (formerly) Lānai, and C. v. virens on the Big Island of Hawaii.

Description 
The Hawaii Amakihi is a small bird, measuring about  in length. It is yellow-green with a small black bill that is  long and has brown eyes with black pupils.

Song
Hawaii Amakihi uses a variety of rapid trills, it is particularly common to hear " a ʻ chee ".

Diet
The Hawaii Amakihi has a very wide diet, and has been able to find food despite habitat alteration.  It has a tubular tongue, which it uses to drink nectar from flowers such as those of the ōhia lehua (Metrosideros polymorpha), ākala (Rubus hawaiensis), and māmane (Sophora chrysophylla). If necessary, it will suck juice from fruits. The Hawaii Amakihi also hunts for spiders and insects among trees and shrubs.

Breeding
Hawaii Amakihi are a productive species with a long breeding season, lasting about 9 months. On the Big Island, Maui and Molokaʻi there is variation in when that breeding season starts but it may coincide with flowering of mämane in dry mämane forests.  Hawaii Amakihi nest in the canopy of trees. They often are able to have two broods within a breeding season; having two rounds of chicks enables their population to increase more rapidly than slow growing species like the endangered Kiwikiu. Chicks remain in the nest for 15-21 days before they fledge.  Young  Hawaii Amakihi become independent from their parents at 2-3 months.

Habitat and Distribution 
It is found on the Big Island, Maui, and Molokai in Hawaii. It formerly occurred on Lānai where it was last seen in 1976. It is one of the most common honeycreepers, inhabiting all types of habitat, dry mämane forests to mesic and wet forests, on the islands at elevations from sea level to . On Maui they have also been successful in forests of introduced pines, cypresses and firs. Of all the forest birds native to Hawaii, the Hawaii Amakihi has been affected the least by habitat changes. It is suspected that it is evolving resistance to diseases such as avian malaria. Along with the Apapane, it is one of the two Hawaiian honeycreepers listed by the IUCN as being of least concern.

References

External links

 Images - Monte M. Taylor
 Videos, photos and sounds - Internet Bird Collection

Category:Chlorodrepanis
Category:Birds of Hawaii
Category:Biota of Hawaii (island)
Category:Endemic fauna of Hawaii
Category:Birds described in 1851
Category:Least concern biota of Oceania
Category:Least concern biota of the United States
Category:Taxonomy articles created by Polbot