Molokai Creeper

Paroreomyza flammea

Description

Known in Hawaiian as kakawahie, the Molokai creeper, Paroreomyza flammea, is a small honey-creeper, about 5 in (12.7 cm) in length and weighing about 0.5 oz (14.2 g). It is a slender bird with a stiff tail. Males are orange, with brown wings and tail; females are dark brownish green, washed with orange. This species has been variously classified as Oreomystis flammea and Loxops flammea.

Behavior

The Molokai creeper often hangs upside down to dig insects out of tree trunks or larger branches. Little is known of its breeding biology.

Habitat

The island of Molokai is formed of two volcanoes; the oldest, Puu Nana, lies in the rain shadow of the larger eastern volcano, Kamakou. Kamakou reaches a height of 4,970 ft (1,514.9 m); its northern face is precipitous. Erosion within the two major northern valleys, Pelekunu and Wailau, has completely encircled a rugged plateau, Olokui, with 2,000-ft (609.6 m) cliffs. This forested plateau is the most isolated and pristine land in the main Hawaiian Islands and still supports populations of rare forest birds. The Molokai creeper is found in wet, montane ohia forests with a dense understory of mosses, vines, and tree ferns. Habitat elevation is above 4,000 ft (1,219.2 m).

Distribution

In the 1890s the creeper was abundant on both the windward and leeward sides of Molokai. This bird was last seen in 1963 in the rugged high country between Pepeopae Bog, Papaala Pali, and Waikolu. No creepers have been found during recent bird surveys, indicating that this species is either extremely rare or extinct. There is no current population estimate.

Threats

The pristine island ecosystem that existed on Molokai before the first Polynesians settled in the Hawaiian Islands is now largely gone, and the arrival of European settlers accelerated the island's conversion to agriculture. Large tracts of forest, especially on the dry leeward slopes, were cleared for agriculture by the Polynesians, and fire was commonly used to burn vast areas to maintain pili grass used for thatching houses. European settlers eliminated all dry forest on Molokai's south coast up to at least 3,000 ft (914.4 m). By the turn of the century almost all forest, except the very wet ohia forest, had been eliminated. Hawaiian forest birds declined as a result.

The combined impact of rooting feral animals and invasive non-native plants has disrupted most remaining stands of native forests. The changing composition, distribution, and densities of native food plants have severely restricted the food supply of island birds.

Conservation and Recovery

The State Reserve system currently holds and actively manages about 30% of the state under forest cover, including forests on the island of Molokai. Management activities include fencing out cattle, hunting of feral animals, and reforestation of denuded areas. Since the Molokai creeper is extremely rare, if not extinct, there is little hope that a captive breeding program will be able to save this species. But other forest bird species may be helped to survive through captive breeding, and the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service is exploring the possibility of captive propagation for other endangered Hawaiian forest birds.

Contact

Regional Office of Endangered Species
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Eastside Federal Complex
911 N. E. 11th Ave.
Portland, Oregon 97232-4181
Telephone: (503) 231-6121
http://pacific.fws.gov/

References

Berger, A. J. 1981. Hawaiian Birdlife. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu.

Scott, J. M., et al. 1988. "Conservation of Hawaii's Vanishing Avifauna." Bioscience 38(4): 238-253.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 1984. "The Maui-Molokai Forest Birds Recovery Plan." U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Portland.