Sandwich-Island Birds. 195 



coccinea. I saw a feather wreath thus made at Olaa, in the 

 district of Puna, which I attempted to purchase ; but the 

 native woman wanted a very high price for it, which I was 

 disinclined to give. Though Psittirostra, as remarked above, 

 is generally distributed throughout the group, in no districts 

 does it seem to be abundant. I think that the locality, in 

 which I found it in the greatest numbers was among the 

 trees clothing the abrupt sides of the deep ravine which 

 runs down to the leper-settlement on the island of Molokai. 

 Very lovely these little birds looked, flying continually to 

 and fro, up and down this stupendous gorge, their yellow 

 necks flashing in the bright sunlight, as they darted out 

 from among the dark green ohias or from the silvery foliage 

 of the kuhui {Aleurites triloba). 



The food of Psittirostra consists entirely of fruits, and 

 chiefly of that of the Freycinetia arborea, the ripe red seeds 

 of which I in most cases found when dissecting them. 1 

 noticed also, particularly in one locality, on the outskirts 

 of a forest in the district of Kona, that a very large propor- 

 tion of the fruits of this climber were eaten away at the apex, 

 and in this wood Psittirostra was especially abundant. I, 

 however, shot examples as they were busily engaged in feed- 

 ing on the small crimson fruit of the wild mulberry (Morus 

 papyri/era), the juice of which had dyed their throats a deep 

 crimson. In districts where the guava is found, Psittirostra 

 also feeds on its fruits ; and I kept one alive for several days, 

 feeding it solely on the fruit of this tree. 



The vertical range of this species extends from the lowest 

 forest-zone up to 3000 feet. 



17. Ph^eornis obscura. " Omao." 



This sombre-coloured bird is still fairly common in the 

 forests of Hawaii, while a very nearly allied species, P. mya- 

 destina, recently described by Dr. Stejneger (Proc. U.S. Nat. 

 Mus. x. p. 90), inhabits the island of Kauai. The Omao 

 is a very tame bird, and though it does not court man's 

 society, it shows little fear of him. Indeed, it was no un- 

 common occurrence for one to alight within a few yards of 



