HAWAIIAN BIRDS. 'id 



observations went far to fill the previous lacunae respecting this 

 interesting subject. 



Mr. Perkins' series of birds included almost all the rarer species 

 still extant, and contained one new species. The fact that so 

 keen an observer and so energetic a collector as Mr. Perkins was 

 able to add but one new species to the list sufficiently attests the 

 thoroughness with which Mr. Perkin's immediate predecessors 

 performed their work. 



For all practical purposes the list of island birds is to be re- 

 garded as complete. Yet the discovery and description of all the 

 birds inhabiting the islands is to be looked upon but as the neces- 

 sary preliminary to a still more important study, viz.: the life- 

 histories of the birds, of their relations to each other and to the 

 avi-fauna of other lands. 



PART II.— DESCRIPTIVE. 



TURDID^. THRUSH FAMILY. 



Phseornis obscura (Gmelin). Omao; Kamao. 



The omao, which is the only Hawaiian representative! of the 

 Thrush Family, is found abundantly all over the island of Ha- 

 waii, but only in the denser forests above one thousand feet. 

 The bird is so shy in some districts, as in parts of Olaa, 

 that it is very difficult to catch sight of, and in consequence 

 is wholly unknown to the settlers except by its voice, while in 

 other localities, not far distant, its disposition is exactly the re- 

 verse, and the bird may often be seen, and its habits studied, at 

 short range. 



Wherever found, it is prodigal with its song and calls, and its 

 notes do much to dispel the prevailing stillness of the Hawaiian 

 forest. The song is jerky and consists of widely-spaced syllables, 

 but is pleasing and, at times, sweet. The omao sings its sweeter 

 strains while on the wing. In Spring, particularly, the bird seems 

 to be unable to express its feelings from its wonted perch and, 

 leaving the top of some tall tree, it circles widely about flooding 

 the air with its notes. The omao is preeminently a berry-eater 



