'Anianiau Honeycreeper
By: Nicole White
Introduction
I am the 'Anianiau Hawaiian honeycreeper. I actively feed on nectar from native trees. I roll my brush-tipped tongue into a tube to drink the nectar. I use my bill to pierce the base of the flower and sip the nectar. My species gleans arthropod such as spiders and caterpillars from foliage high in the tree canopy. Most of my time is spent on the outer of the foliage of trees. Sometimes I visit the trunk or larger branches but I rarely ever do and rarely go visit the ground. When one of my kind finds a rich nectar source then a small flock will come forage with it.
My habitat is wet upland forests on Kauai. My species occupies about 15 percent of our previous range. We are now restricted to mountain ranges mostly above 1,950 feet. We’re more common in undisturbed native forests. There is only 10,000 - 19,999 left of us and our population is declining.
Organizations are trying to suppress or even eliminate mosquito populations to stop the spread of introduced diseases that have killed many of Hawaii’s native birds. Non-native predators are a threat to my species. Some different kinds of rats and feral cats are predators to us. They go after incubating adults, eggs, and young. Hurricanes are also a threat to my species. The hurricanes knock down trees and destroy my habitat.
Ancestry
Rosefinches and a group of Eurasian bird species is an ancestor shared by all Hawaiian Honeycreepers. The founders finches likely immigrated to Hawaii sometime between 7.2 million and 5.8 million years ago. I am part of the Fringilline and Cardueline Finches family. Many other birds are part of this family. The Eurasian Bullfinch is also part of this family. Birds in the Fringilline & Cardueline Finches family are small birds with stout, short bills adapted to cracking open seeds and have short legs for mostly arboreal lifestyles.
The Japanese White-eye, Kauai Amakihi, and Akekee are all similar to me. They all have a yellow-green color like I do and are part of the family as me. The Japanese White-eye bird came to Hawaii in 1929. My species was discovered in the 1930s. Also, the Japanese White-eye inhabits the top of mountains just like I do. They also eat nectar. The Japanese White-eye could possibly be one of my ancestors.
Work Citied
“'Anianiau.” American Bird Conservancy, abcbirds.org/bird/anianiau/.
“Field Guide to Birds of North America.” Red-Breasted Nuthatch - Whatbird.com, identify.whatbird.com/obj/1171/overview/Anianiau.aspx.
Glad, Anouk, and Lisa H. Crampton. “Local Prevalence and Transmission of Avian Malaria in the Alakai Plateau of Kauai, Hawaii, U.S.A.” The Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering, Wiley-Blackwell, 27 Nov. 2015, onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jvec.12157.
GrrlScientist. “Hawaiian Honeycreepers and Their Tangled Evolutionary Tree.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 2 Nov. 2011, www.theguardian.com/science/punctuated-equilibrium/2011/nov/02/hawaiian-honeycreepers-tangled-evolutionary-tree.
“Japanese White-Eye.” Aplomado Falcon - Introduction | Birds of North America Online, 1 Jan. 2000, birdsna.org/Species-Account/bna/species/jaweye/introduction/.