THE HAWAIIAN LEHUA 



417 



flowering season is spring and summer, but considering 

 all elevations, trees may be found in flower at all times 

 of the year. 



One of the most pleasurable and interesting features of 

 the Hawaiian lehua forest was its indigenous bird life. In 

 primitive times the groves abounded with highly special- 

 ized and brilliantly colored species. The profound 

 changes in the forest, brought about by the influences 

 of civilization, have caused the extinction of many 

 species, and have made many others exceedingly rare. 

 However, even today, in the more secluded woodlands, 

 as those of the Puna and Hamakua districts, Hawaii, and 

 on the slopes of Haleakala, Maui, some of the native 

 birds are fairly plentiful. 



erous and generally distributed throughout the lehua 

 forests. It nests in the summits of the tallest lehuas, and 

 chooses the most inaccessible places, out near the very 

 tips of the slender branches. It may be remarked, in 

 passing, that many Hawaiian birds locate their nests in 

 very protected situations, in the highest trees. 



The Hawaii amakihi is a nectar-loving species, and 

 is frequently seen with the i'iwi and akakani. It also 

 feeds upon minute insects, and spends much of its time 

 searching the foliage of the lehua and low shrubbery. 

 The crested honey-eater is confined to the high forests 

 of Haleakala, above 5000 feet. Like the akakani, it 

 frequents the lehua almost exclusively, and derives a 

 large part of its food from the nectar. Its long, tubular, 



A PORTION OF THE GREAT LEHUA FOREST ON THE ISLAND OF HAWAII 



The earthy hummock in the foreground is a bank of sulfur, near Kilauea Volcano. The trees are 30 to 60 feet high in this particular place. 

 The prevalence of the lehua on the mighty flanks of active volcanoes has resulted in its destruction by the fiery lava rivers, a theme often 

 dwelt upon by the native poet "They are gray from the heat of the goddess." And again, "Consumed by the fire that flows from the pit." 



The birds most intimately associated with the lehua 

 are those that live chiefly upon the nectar. Several 

 species are exceedingly fond of the nectar, and are 

 usually found in the flowering groves. Foremost among 

 these is the akakani or apapani* This is one of the most 

 beautiful and abundant of the native birds, and is found 

 on all the islands. Its food consists almost wholly of 

 nectar and small insects. The akakani has a pleasing 

 habit of assembling in small groups in the summits of the 

 lofty lehua trees about mid-day, when most of the other 

 woodland birds are silent. The males then join in a 

 subdued lullaby "and literally sing themselves and their 

 mates to sleep." The song is sweet, persistent and 

 monotonous, and is given at all seasons and all times of 

 the day. The akakani usually nests in the tall forest 

 lehuas, but sometimes chooses the scrubby lehuas in more 

 open country. The i'iwi is another species fairly num- 



Descriptions of these lovely and highly specialized species are not 

 within the province of this paper, but may be found, together with excel- 

 lent colored plates, in the sumptuous works of Wilson and Scott, "Ayes 

 Sandwichensis," and Rothschild's "Birds of Laysan and Neighboring 

 Islands." 



brush-tipped tongue enables this species to extract the 

 nectar with great ease. It also feeds upon insects. Like 

 most of the nectar-eating birds, its stomach is remarka- 

 bly small for the size of the bird ; nectar is easily and 

 quickly digested. The o-o is a beautiful species, once 

 occurring on all the islands, but now nearly exterminated. 

 This species was one of several trapped by the primitive 

 Hawaiians for the sake of their beautiful feathers, 

 which were used in the manufacture of the priceless 

 feather garments of Hawaiian royalty. The ancient 

 chiefs and kings had regular staffs of bird-catchers, who 

 were very expert. These men commonly made use of 

 the viscid latex of the breadfruit, called pilali, or olapa 

 (cheirodendron saudichaudii) gum, smearing it over the 

 branches of a lehua tree, and often fastening there a 

 dead i'iwi bird, to which the pugnacious o-o would be 

 attracted. The word "pa-lei" was used to designate a 

 lehua tree in full flower, which had been thus prepared 

 as a trap. Often all the lower branches were stripped 

 from the tree ; the upper ones were limed. The dwarf 



