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Himatione sanquinea, apapane, is the honeycreeper one is most likely to see. It is found on all the main islands in a wide range of climate zones. It is frequently confused with the i'iwi, since both are red. However, the apapane's bill is black while the i'iwi's is orange. The i'iwi's head is also shaped differently. In the wild, however, one often needs binoculars to tell which bird is which.
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Hemignathus obscurus, or 'akialoa, is an endemic bird, as are all of the honeycreepers. Although it is found on Kaua'i, O'ahu, Lana'i, and Hawai'i, it is among the most endagered honeycreepers. Photo provided by Edwin Pettys.
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Like the other honeycreepers, Loxops coccineus, or 'akepa, is found in Mesic and Wet forests. Like other honeycreeper pollinators, it is attracted to bright flowers for their nectar. 'Akepa is found on Kaua'i, O'ahu, Lana'i, and Hawai'i. While it is rare, it is not currectly listed as endangered. This photo and those below are by David Boynton.
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Smallest of the honeycreepers, Hemignathus parvus, or 'anianiau, often weighs less than an ounce. Like other nectar-feeding honeycreepers, it has a curved bill. The Hawaiian honeycreepers are an example of evolution through adaptive radiation. It is thought that only one ancestral immgrant species gave rise to the twenty or more birds that make up the honeycreeper grouping.
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, Trematolobelia macrostachys. I'iwi and other Hawaiian honeycreepers, like those pictured below, are important pollinators of native plants. The curved bill common to many honeycreepers is an example of co-evolution--genetic change in two or more organism in response to each other. Photo by Dave Boynton.
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