Oʻahu ʻakepa
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L. wolstenholmei
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| Loxops wolstenholmei Rothschild, 1895
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The Oʻahu ʻakepa (Loxops wolstenholmei) is an extinct species of ʻakepa that was endemic to the island of Oahu. It was commonly sighted throughout the 19th century. This brick red Hawaiian honeycreeper was found in the mountain peaks in densely forested areas. The females were mostly gray with a tinge of green. The birds had a slight crossbill just like the other Loxops species. It used its crossbill to open up buds in search for nectar and insects for it to eat. Its most common haunts were the ʻōhiʻa and koa forests that were filled with the many flowers and insects that this species liked to eat. The Oʻahu ʻakepa is one of three different species of ʻakepa that were spread by possible weather and migration. The movement of the species stopped causing the species to break into four branches. The first branch was the Hawaiian ʻakepa, a scarlet- red bird that lives only on the Big Island and may be the ancestor of the Loxops genus. Next is the Maui ʻakepa, which was found as fossils on all the islands of Maui Nui, but was historically seen on Maui. It is a grayish-orange bird that was the first of the ʻakepa species to disappear. Then came the Oʻahu ʻakepa, which is a brick red color and was seen till around the 1990s when it became extinct. The last branch was the ‘akeke‘e, a green bird that is only found on the island of Kauai.
References
- BirdLife International 2004. Loxops coccineus wolstenholmei. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 19 July 2007.[dead link]
