ʻIʻiwi
| ʻIʻiwi | |
|---|---|
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| Adult in Hawaii | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Fringillidae |
| Subfamily: | Carduelinae |
| Tribe: | Drepanidini |
| Genus: | Drepanis |
| Species: | D. coccinea |
| Binomial name | |
|
Drepanis coccinea (Forster, 1780) |
|
| Synonyms | |
|
Vestiaria coccinea |
|
Vestiaria coccinea
The ʻiʻiwi (Drepanis coccinea, pronounced /iːˈiːviː/, ee-EE-vee), or scarlet honeycreeper is a "hummingbird-niched" species of Hawaiian honeycreeper. It is one of the most plentiful species of this family, many of which are endangered or extinct. The ʻiʻiwi is a highly recognizable symbol of Hawaiʻi. The ʻiʻiwi is the third most common native land bird in the Hawaiian Islands. Large colonies of ʻiʻiwi inhabit the islands of Hawaiʻi, Maui, and Kauaʻi, with smaller colonies on Molokaʻi and Oʻahu but are no longer present on Lānaʻi. Altogether, the remaining populations total 350,000 individuals, but are decreasing.
The adult ʻiʻiwi is mostly scarlet, with black wings and tail and a long, curved, salmon-colored bill used primarily for drinking nectar. The contrast of the red and black plumage with surrounding green foliage makes the ʻiʻiwi one of Hawaiʻi's most easily seen birds. Younger birds have golden plumage with more spots and ivory bills and were mistaken for a different species by early naturalists. Observations of young birds moulting into adult plumage resolved this confusion.
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Wikipedia