Sandwich-Island Birds. 181 



chooses its nesting-place amongst their highest branches, 

 which are some 90 to 100 feet from the ground. I venture 

 to say that its nest will never be taken, as not even a 

 Hawaiian, bold, skilful, and withal utterly reckless climber 

 as he is, would be able to scale these forest giants. 



The ordinary vertical range of this bird is from 1200 to 

 4000 feet ; but I am told by my friend Mr. Ashford Spencer 

 that he has observed it at certain seasons of the year in the 

 forest around the sheep-station of Kalicha, which is above 

 6000 feet. 



It is probable that the O-o, like other birds, follows its 

 food, migrating to this high mountain-region as soon as the 

 ohia tree is out of flower in the lower forest-zone. 



I only met with this species in the island of Hawaii. 



2. Drepanis pacifica. " Mamo." 



Of this extremely rare and apparently extinct species I 

 procured a single specimen from a collection which was 

 formed by Mr. Mills, of Hilo in Hawaii, some thirty years 

 Ego or more. The fact of its native name being the same 

 as that of the war-cloaks already spoken of, seems to suggest 

 that they must have received it from this bird, and that 

 probably in olden times they were chiefly wrought of the 

 beautiful golden-yellow feathers from its back, which are 

 much deeper in colour, as they are larger and longer, than 

 the axillary tufts of Acrulocercus nobilis. 



I could obtain no information as to the period when this 

 species was last observed, but I saw some feather-wreaths 

 (" leis ") which were composed of its plumes. 



The specimen I brought home has since been beautifully 

 remounted by Mr. Cullingford of Durham, and is now in 

 the Museum of the University of Cambridge. I am not 

 aware of the existence of a second in this country. 



3. Vestiaria coccinea. "Iiwi." 



This beautiful species, which is generally distributed 

 throughout the entire archipelago, is by far the most 

 conspicuous of its birds on account of its gorgeous scarlet 

 plumage, the brilliancy of which is greatly heightened by 



SER. vi. — vol. n. o 



