

the lava-blocks. These trees are a mass of crimson blossom, and among their branches 

 the Iiwi was in great numbers, busily engaged in probing the flowers in search of nectar. 

 We found a nest in one of the small trees, which probably belonged to this bird, as it 

 was the only species observed in this vicinity, and this supposition is strengthened by 

 the fact of our shooting two quite young birds soon afterwards " 1 . I may briefly 

 describe the nest as a round and shallow cup, 4 inches in diameter, composed of mosses 

 and dry bents, the inside being composed of slender rootlets. 



The food of the Iiwi consists chiefly of honey, which it finds in the blossoms of the 

 ohia and of the arborescent Lobeliaceee 2 ; no doubt it also preys on the small insects 

 found in the flowers ; but as honey will often drip from the bill of this bird, when shot, 

 it probably constitutes its sustenance to a greater extent than that of other species, 

 where such is not the case. 



I have met with the subject of this article at an elevation of 6000 feet in the district 

 of Kona, in Hawaii, and I am informed that it is abundant at certain seasons of the 

 year above Kalaieha — a sheep-station on the same island at a still higher level. This 

 shows that it follows its food, and that when the ohia is over at 2000 feet, but in 

 full flower at 5000, it migrates to a greater elevation. In the first Plate a flowering 

 branch of a tall woody climber [Strongylodon lucidum) is shown, from a sketch from 

 nature by myself, which festoons the forest-trees, and of which the scarlet sickle- 

 shaped flowers mimic in a most perfect manner, both in colour and shape, the bill of 

 the Iiwi; it is therefore known to the natives by the name of "Nukuiiwi" (bill of 

 Iiwi) or " Kaiiwi " (the Iiwi). 



I must also note, with regard to its vertical range, that this bird is frequently to be 

 observed on the sea-beach, to which uncongenial region it is driven by the high winds 

 from its forest home, as is the case with the " Apapane " (Himatione scmguinea). I 

 quote the following from a letter of my friend Randal von Tempsky, of Kula, Maui, 

 received in March 1890, as interesting in this connection: — " This winter has killed off 

 an extraordinary number of native birds in Kula, I am sorry to say ; there has been an 

 exceptionally long spell of dry weather accompanied by a gale of wind. I found 

 several mountain birds on the sand at the ' beach,' a place the most unpropitious you 



1 Bloxam, Voy. ' Blonde,' App. p. 249, states that this species builds on the tops of trees. 



2 Cassin, TJ. S. Expl. Exped. p. 178, merely remarks about this species " that several specimens in ex- 

 cellent plumage were obtained by the naturalists of the expedition," but he quotes some interesting details 

 of Peale's which I think worth transcribing here : — " This curiously and highly coloured bird is found 

 inhabiting most of the Hawaiian group of islands, where it is one of the most common species. At Oahu, we 

 found them generally about the gigantic Lobelias which characterize the botany of that island. They extract 

 their food from the flower of the Lobelia, for which the singularly formed bill is admirably adapted. The red 

 feathers of this species were usually selected for the ornamental figures on the capes and robes of the ancient 

 Hawaiians, but by reason of their abundance were not so highly valued as those of the O-O." 



Dr. Finsch (Ibis, 1880, pp. 79, 80) says that he observed many examples of Drepanis coccinea and D. san- 

 guinea while collecting at Olinda on the island of Maui, at 5400 feet altitude, but that the stomach contained 

 nothing more than small seeds ; I can only say that my observations, extending over a much longer period, 

 lead to a different conclusiou. 



