64 HAWAIIAN BIRDS. 



its young. Mr. Perkins, however, heard from it "a decided song" 

 which he Hkens to that of the amakihi. 



The koa upon Maui has suffered much of late years from the 

 ravages of the insect pests above alluded to, and thousands of 

 mature trees have been killed. The life of Pseudonestor is so in- 

 separably connected with the koa tree that the destruction of the 

 latter will be almost certainly followed by the extinction of the 

 former, and it is to be feared that this interesting and valuable 

 bird, confined as it is to one island, has before it no very long 

 term of existence.. 



The powerful odor which attaches to the plumage of so many 

 of the Drepanidida is very marked in the case of this bird, being 

 nearly, or quite, as strong as in the ou. 



Description. — Adult. Upper parts green, suffused with grey; head and. 

 rump brighter; wings and tail brown edged with green; a broad super- 

 ciliary streak of canary yellow from bill to nape. Under parts canary 

 yellow; sides and flanks green. Maxilla bluish black, cutting edge 

 whitish; mandible whitish; legs plurabeus, soles yellowish. 



Female smaller and duller. Length of adult about 5J4 inches. 



The young bird in juvenile dress is colored much like the adult, but is 

 pale yellowish underneath. 



Psittirostra psittacea (Gmelin). Ou. 



The ou is one of the winged gems of the island forests, and 

 happily is widely distributed throughout the gfoup. It is found 

 on all the larger islands, including even Lanai, although upon 

 Oahu it is now practically extinct. 



The bright green plumage of the ou, its yellow head and its. 

 powerful beak combine to suggest to the uninitiated the parrot 

 family; in fact the bird was called by Latham, its first describer,. 

 the "Parrot-billed Grosbeak." 



The ou is, perhaps, the only really fine songster among the 

 island birds, and in the writer's opinion its song far excels that of 

 any other Hawaiian species. The song is somewhat suggestive of 

 that of the canary's and in Olaa it is the general belief that the 

 woods are full of escaped cage birds. Yet in power, sweetness and. 

 melodiousness the song of the ou at its best far excels the canary's.. 

 Unfortunately the ou is rather chary of fts melody, and its finished 



