298 SOME POLYNESIAN AND HAWAIIAN BIRDS 



increase in the numbers of the species has been noticed of late years. In sizethis 

 bird is about equal to an ordinary pigeon ; in general colour it is black, with 

 greenish metallic reflections on the head and throat, but the back, wings, and 

 tail are reddish brown, and the black under-parts devoid of a metallic sheen. 



One of the most beautiful of all birds is the mamo (Drepanis 

 ' pacifica), of the Hawaiian Islands, a member of a special family 

 allied to the honey-eaters (Meliphagidce), but probably now exterminated ; its. 

 disappearance being due to the demand for its brilliant yellow feathers. These 

 were used for the great war-cloaks, or mamos, of the native chiefs, the most mag- 

 nificent specimen of which was probably one belonging to King Kamehameha I., 

 the great native conqueror who united all the islands of the group under his 

 own dominion. The manufacture of this particular cloak lasted through the reigns 

 of the owner's eight immediate predecessors; and since each mamo yielded only a 

 few of the golden feathers, it must have involved the immolation of thousands of 

 birds. It is therefore more a matter of wonder that sufficient birds were forth- 

 coming for the purpose than that the species was exterminated. Small bundles 

 of mamo-feathers were formerly paid by their followers to the chiefs ; while 

 the local kings employed at the same time a staff of men whose duty it was 

 to trap the mamos with lime. Another Hawaiian bird yielding golden feathers is 

 the o-o (Acrulocercus nobilis), a member of a genus of honey-eaters with several 

 other species. The o-o used to be captured alive, and after being deprived of its 

 golden feathers, was set at liberty ; but the golden plumes of .the mamo could 

 be obtained only by the death of their owner. Consequently the mamo became 

 killed out while the o-o still survives. 



The mamo is, however, not the only Hawaiian bird which has 

 Other Species. . . . . 



been exterminated during the historic period, the same fate having 



apparently overtaken a peculiar kind of rail known as the maho (Pennula 

 ecaudata) which, and the allied Hawaiian P. sandvichensis, are the only repre- 

 sentatives of the genus. Several other kinds of birds indigenous to the Sandwich 

 group also seem on the verge of extinction. This is partly due to the destruction 

 of the forests, and partly to the introduction of foreign birds of a more aggressive 

 type. 



caiifornian It may be added that the Galifornian linnet (Carpodacus 



Linnet. frontalis) was introduced into the Hawaiian Islands about forty 

 years ago, and that the males of the race now established there differ from the 

 normal form of their continental brethren by the replacement of the crimson 

 head and breast colouring by yellow or orange. This pale colouring of the cock 

 Hawaiian linnet is paralleled sporadically by the linnet of the mainland in a wild 

 state, and constantly in birds kept in confinement. As the change in the Hawaiian 

 bird does not appear to be due to differences in temperature or humidity, change 

 of food, or a diminution in the number of foes, it may probably be connected 

 with deep-seated factors, one of which is perhaps insularity of habitat. 



