Paroreomyza montana
The Maui Alauahio (Paroreomyza montana) is a small, vibrant Hawaiian honeycreeper, measuring approximately 11 cm (4.3 inches) in length and weighing around 12 grams (0.4 oz). Males are strikingly bright yellow on the head and underparts, contrasting with an olive-green back and wings, while females exhibit a duller yellow-olive plumage. Distinctive field marks include their small, conical, pointed bill perfectly adapted for gleaning insects, and their active, acrobatic foraging style in the f...
Found exclusively in high-elevation (1,000-2,000 meters or 3,300-6,600 feet) montane wet forest, dominated by native ʻōhiʻa (Metrosideros polymorpha) and koa (Acacia koa) trees.
Primarily insectivorous, feeding on arthropods such as insects and spiders gleaned from bark, leaves, and moss; occasionally consumes nectar from ʻōhiʻa flowers.
Maui Alauahio are highly active, diurnal birds, constantly moving through the forest canopy and understory in search of food. They are primarily insectivorous gleaners, meticulously searching bark, leaves, and mosses for arthropods with their sharp, conical bills, often hanging upside down like a...
The Maui Alauahio is endemic to the island of Maui, Hawaiian Islands, and its range has contracted dramatically over the last century. Historically widespread across the island's montane forests, it is now restricted to a few fragmented, high-elevation tracts on the windward slopes of Haleakalā v...
Critically Endangered
- The Maui Alauahio is a relic of an ancient Hawaiian honeycreeper lineage, representing one of the oldest surviving branches of the adaptive radiation. - It is one of only two remaining species in the genus Paroreomyza, the other being the ʻOʻahu ʻAlauahio, which is also critically endangered. -...