Hawaiian Honey Creepers 809 



THE HAWAIIAN HONEY CREEPERS 



(Family Drepanididce) 



This little group, which includes only about forty forms, is entirely confined 

 to the Hawaiian Islands, where it is of great importance, since it comprises fully 

 two thirds of the species of typical Hawaiian birds. They were formerly placed 

 with the Honeyeaters (Meliphagida), and later scattered among the Flower- 

 peckers (Dicceid&l, both of which groups they somewhat resemble, but largely 

 on the basis of extensive anatomical material, Dr. Gadow has recently decided 

 that the family is probably of American origin and most closely related to the 

 Honey Creepers (Ccerebidce}. They undoubtedly reached the islands a very long 

 time ago, probably being the first avian inhabitants other than sea birds, since 

 they have had sufficient time to become differentiated into very diverse forms. 

 They are small or medium-sized oscinine birds, with moderately long, pointed 

 wings, rather short, nearly square tails, and a moderately long tarsus. The 

 bill is extremely variable, in some (Vestiaria and Drepanis} being long and 

 much curved, the upper mandible being nearly twice the length of the lower. 

 In a majority of forms the bill is shorter and but little decurved, becoming 

 stout, hooked, and decidedly Finch-like in Loxioides, Rhodacanthis, etc., and 

 reaches its extreme development in Pseudonestor, where it becomes actually 

 Parrot-like. In one genus (Loxops) the lower mandible is slightly twisted, 

 either to the right or to the left, a character individually acquired, it was 

 presumed, by their "twisting open husks and seeds, or cracks of bark in 

 search of their food," but Henshaw states that they secure their prey, which 

 consists of small insects and caterpillars, among the leaves, the small outer- 

 most twigs, and the flowers of the koa, and never, so far as he could learn, 

 probe into the cracks and crevices of the bark nor " twist off husks and 

 seeds"; its origin and function, if there be one, is therefore unknown. The 

 nostrils in the members of this group are sometimes covered by an operculum, 

 but no bristles are ever present. The tongue is normally semi-tubular and frayed 

 out into a brush-like tip, but in the thicker billed forms it is only slightly tubular 

 and more or less split or frayed above. 



The Drepanidida are birds apparently of weak constitution, a condition 

 induced, perhaps, by continuous inbreeding, since they seem unable or indis- 

 posed to surmount seemingly slight barriers to their spread, and insignificant 

 changes in their surroundings result disastrously. Some of them are distributed 

 throughout several of the islands and are fairly abundant, and some are found 

 on two adjacent islands, while others are so extremely rare that they are con- 

 fined to areas but a few square miles in extent, and seem on the point of extinction. 

 They are preeminently birds of the forests and seem wholly unable to avail 

 themselves of any of the advantages which often accrue to small birds with the 

 spread of civilization, in fact, the cutting away of the fringe to the forest has 

 displaced some, and with the gradual removal of the forests themselves their 

 habitats are becoming more and more contracted, and unless this deforestation 



