58 Director s A)inual Report. 



seldom seen in any numbers in the regions frequented by our native 

 birds, that they can hardly be said to seriously affect the decrease 

 or disappearance of the Hawaiian avifauna. 



Carpodacus mexicanus obscurus McCall. 



The House Finch or "Rice Bird" is common on Molokai. 

 A nest — one of a number seen — was taken from an Ohia tree grow- 

 ing near Kamoku cabin at about 4000 feet elevation. It had been 

 deserted, owing to the heavy late rains. The seeds in the grass, 

 of which it was composed, had sprouted, some of the sprouts being 

 two inches long, giving the struc"ture the appearance of a ball of 

 pale green moss. 



Munia nisoria (Temm.). 



The "Chinese Sparrow" was occasionally met with in small 

 flocks on the lower levels about the island. 



Drepanorhamphus funereus (Newton). 



The Hoa, or "Oo-nuku-umu" as Perkins calls it, is exceed- 

 ingly rare, so rare, indeed, that seven weeks of continuous field 

 work in the forests of Molokai, its only habitat, were necessary 

 before seeing or hearing, let alone securing a single specimen. 

 The species was brought to our knowledge by Mr. Perkins, who 

 first secured specimens in the forests at the head of Pelekunu 

 valley in 1S93. Judging by the number of specimens in the Bishop 

 Museum, which received one-third of all the specimens he col- 

 ledled, not more than six birds were secured by him. The follow- 

 ing year Mr. Theodore Meyer, a resident of Molokai, secured six 

 specimens from the same locality, in six months of more or less 

 continuous coUedling. He believed the species to be extinct, as 

 neither he nor any of his friends from then until now had been able 

 to find the bird in any locality. 



In March and April of the present year, Mr. George Munro 

 spent four weeks in the type locality, with especial information as 

 to its habits and calls, furnished him by Mr. Perkins. As Mr. 

 Munro has had considerable experience in collecting Hawaiian 



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