The Status of Native Land Birds on Molokai, Hawaiian Islands 
Frank Richardson 1 
Molokai, the fifth largest of the Hawaiian 
Islands, is 38 miles long and about 10 miles 
wide. Its eastern half is high land running up 
to almost 5,000 feet in height. Some rather ex- 
tensive areas of native forest still remain on the 
upper slopes, but introduced plants have dis- 
placed the native growth over large areas. In 
spite of the large area and the amount of cover, 
the rather intensive observations of the Ha- 
waiian Bird Survey from 1935 to 1937 resulted 
in only a single record (Munro, 1944: 96) of a 
native land species on Molokai — the apapane 
( Himatione sanguined). The survey covered 
large areas of native forest, chiefly in the east- 
central part of the island, where endemic birds 
had once been abundant. Munro thought he 
heard the song of the Molokai thrush ( Phaeornis 
obscura ruth a) in 1936 but was not certain. 
Richards (1946: 29) probably saw amakihis 
( Chlorodrepanis virens ivilsoni ), but this too is 
uncertain. Bryan (1908) was apparently the last 
ornithologist to observe and collect various 
native birds that have since become extinct or 
nearly extinct. He saw Perkins’ mamo ( Dre - 
panis funerea ), the crested honey eater (Pal- 
meria dolei ), the Molokai creeper (Paroreomyza 
maculata flammea ), and other native birds. Cer- 
tain species, such as the ou (Psittacirostra 
psittacea) and the oo ( Acrulocercus bishopi), 
were almost certainly extinct even then. 
The survey of 1935-1937 appeared to indi- 
cate that nearly all native birds formerly found 
on Molokai were extinct. However, the survey 
did not cover certain parts of the island, espe- 
1 Department of Zoology and Entomology, Univer- 
sity of Hawaii. Manuscript received June 30, 1948. 
dally isolated canyons and highlands on the 
northeast side. Consequently, David Woodside 
and I undertook a visit to this little-frequented 
region. Our chief purpose was to observe birds 
on Olokui Mountain, which towers over 4,600 
feet above and east of Pelekunu Valley which 
was a favorite collecting area of the fabulously 
successful collectors of the late nineteenth cen- 
tury. Bryan, as far as we could determine, was 
the only ornithologist who had been up on 
Olokui, and he probably covered only a small 
part of it. We hoped that the mountain, be- 
cause of its great encircling cliffs and the 
bordering, deeply cut Pelekunu and Wailau 
Valleys, had escaped most human influences 
and that native birds which had long since dis- 
appeared from other parts of Molokai might 
have survived there. Munro, who is more 
familiar than anyone else with Molokai birds, 
repeatedly mentions (1944) Olokui as the last 
possible refuge for endemic birds on Molokai. 
Mr. Woodside and I, with Harold St. John 
and two botanical assistants, landed at the 
mouth of Wailau Valley on February 2, 1948. 
The next day we followed the seaward ridge 
of Olokui ( Fig. 1 ) , and ascended the mountain 
to a height of about 3,000 feet, cutting our way 
through the thick plant growth above approxi- 
mately 1,500 feet. We established a base camp 
at 3,000 feet, and during the next 3 days made 
trips into the canyons on the east side of Olo- 
kui to within half a mile of its top. After 
descending the mountain we crossed the island 
by hiking up Wailau Valley, climbed the steep 
south wall to its 3,000-foot rim, and then made 
the more gradual descent to Mapulehu. 
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