THE ANLMAL LIFE OF THE UROUl'. 329 



The Elepaio. 



A list of fifty-six species of living- and extinct passerine birds are all that 

 has been known to exist in the forests of the inhabited islands of the group. 

 This small list must be further reduced by sixteen species which are now 

 regarded by ornithologist as extinct. Of the remaining forty species, which 

 are about equally distributed among the six islands, there are none better 

 known or more commonly met with than the Hawaiian flycatcher, or elepaio of 

 the natives. 



Kauai, Oahu and Hawaii still have living species of this fearless little 

 brown bird that on each island can be recognized at once by its pert air and 

 the saucy cock of its fan-shaped tail. They are common on the mountainside 

 all the wa3' from the sea to well up into the higher levels. When hidden in 

 the forests they are easily identified by their curious, loud, clear, iusistant 

 call — "elepaio," which is varied by a kissing noise as well as by a number of 

 other whistled notes and calls. 



The elepaio ' is one of the best known of any of the Hawaiian birds. Its 

 nest is a beautiful little .structure about two and a half inches in diameter, that 

 in appearance is not unlike that of the humming-bird. It is composed of very 

 fine grass, mosses and lichens, and is placed in the fork of a tree, usually but a 

 few feet from the ground. While the elepaio is a bird famous in song and 

 story on all of the islands, and according to David Malo was formerly used for 

 food, it seems not to have been seriously reduced in numbers and still i-emains 

 the most abundant Hawaiian species. 



The Ap.\p.\ne and Iiwi. 



The species most commonly noted by strangers, however, is the beautiful 

 dark blood-red bird, the apapane - of the natives. It is about five and a 

 quarter inches in length and can readily be distinguished from the beautiful 

 scarlet iiwi,^ which is a slightly largei' and more brilliant bird, with the bill 

 and feet vermilion or at least not black, as is the case with the apapane. 



Both these species of red birds occur in the forest on all the larger inhab- 

 ited islands in favorable localities from near the sea-shore to the upper limit 

 of the large forest trees, but they are most abundant at from two to four thou- 

 sand feet elevation. Both are equally fond of nectar, and both frequent the 

 flowering ohia trees. The two species are perhaps the most easily observed by 

 visitors in the vicinity of the Volcano House on Hawaii, where the pleasant 

 though somewhat monotonous song of the apapane can be heard from early 

 until late. 



Amakihi 



All the larger islands ai'e inhabited by a small green-and-yellow or olive- 

 green bird' with a curved beak, known as the amakihi. While tlun- differ 



di'irensia = Hawaii. 

 ^ Chlorodrepanis spp. 



22 



