General

Akohekohe: Medium honeycreeper, primarily black with a white or gray crested forehead. Orange eye ring extends to an orange-red nape. Breast and throat feathers are gray-tipped; orange-tipped feathers scattered over rest of the body. Wings and tail have white edges. Sexes are similar in color pattern and plumage, but distinctive by wing measurement. Also in breeding season females develop a brood patch and males develop cloaca protuberance. Juveniles lack the crest and colorful plumage and are gray-brown overall.

Range and Habitat

Akohekohe: Limited range; endemic only to the island of Maui. Commonly found in moist forests on the east slopes of Haleakala at elevations from 5,500' to 7,000'. Formerly found on West Maui and Molokai. This bird is decreasing in population; it is estimated that there are 3,700 individuals remaining.

Breeding and Nesting

Akohekohe: They nest exclusively in the ohia tree. The female builds a cup-shaped nest of twigs and lays one or two gray eggs with brown spots and streaks. They nest twice seasonally from November to June, and have a relatively high success rate. Incubation is carried out by the female for 17 days. Both parents feed the chicks, which fledge at around 21 days.

Foraging and Feeding

Akohekohe: These birds feed mostly on the nectar of Ohia trees; a single tree provides several hundred inflorescences during peak bloom, offering a rich supply of nectar. When the flowers are limited it will eat insects, fruit and nectar from other plants and even forage in the understory. They forage by hopping or running from tree to tree instead of flying.

Vocalization

Akohekohe: The song varies between a low chuckling "tjook tjook chouroup" to a "hur-hur-hur-gluk-gluk-gluk". The calls are a whistled "whee-o, wheeo" and a descending "tchew" which is often repeated.

Similar Species

Akohekohe: Not likely to be confused with any other species.