BAWAIIAN BIRDS. 63 



Pseudonestor xanthophrys Rothschild. Parrot-billed Koa Finch. 



This extraordinary and finch-like bird is found only on the 

 ■island of Maui where it is very local and is confined to the high 

 forest from an elevation of about 4,000 feet upward. 



The formidable, hooked and parrot-like bill suggests peculiar 

 and remarkable habits, a suggestion fully confirmed by observa- 

 tion of the bird in the midst of its natural surroundings. Mr. 

 Perkins has given an admirable account of Pseudonestor's habits, 

 and my own experience with the bird in the forests of Haleakala 

 fully confirm the accuracy of his observations. 



The bird appears never to wander far from the koa, and obtains 

 the principal part of its food, the larvae of longicorn beetles, by 

 tearing open the small terminal dead twigs of this tree in which 

 the larvae burrow, secure from all bird enemies less formidably 

 equipped. The stout legs and claws of the bird enable it to main- 

 tain its hold on the branches in any desired position and for any 

 length of time, and a suspected twig is soon reduced to fragments 

 by the operation of its powerful mandibles. 



Undoubtedly, as suggested by Mr. Perkins, the peculiar bill of 

 Pseudonestor and its powerful jaw muscles have been developed 

 by use in the above manner. 



I found the bird in June feeding its young, and at this time it 

 has recourse, as have so many other Hawaiian species, to the little 

 caterpillars which infest the koa and ohia at all seasons of the 

 3'ear but, especiall)', in the summer. In its search for these the 

 bird descends into the shrubber\' to within a few feet of the 

 ground.' 



Pseudonestor is very tame and unsuspicious and withal a bit 

 curious, and while at work may be watched at short range more 

 easily than any Hawaiian bird known to me. 



Like so many other Hawaiian birds this species is very local, 

 but unlike some others it is rare, and I never saw more than two 

 in a long day's search, more frequently none at all. All the indi- 

 viduals that came under my notice, less than ten in all, were silent 

 save one male which as it flew emitted a low faint pea, much like 

 the call of Chlorodrepanis virens, which was probably the call to 



