Akohekohe

About Akohekohe

ʻĀkohekohe, or crested honeycreeper, is a large and unmistakable Hawaiian honeycreeper endemic to Maui. Its mostly black plumage is patterned with orange, yellow, white, gray, and silvery feather tips, and a curled white crest projects forward over the bill. Orange feathers surround the eyes and continue across the head, while pale shoulder patches and brightly colored thighs add to its striking appearance. Males and females are similar, and the species’ name reflects one of its rough, croaking calls.

This bird lives in wet and mesic montane forest dominated by ʻōhiʻa and ʻōlapa on the northeastern slope of Haleakalā. Nectar—especially from ʻōhiʻa lehua—is its principal food, supplemented by arthropods gleaned from flowers and foliage. ʻĀkohekohe are strong fliers that may move between elevations as flowering conditions change. They spend much of the day foraging and vigorously defend rich feeding trees, sometimes displacing other nectar-feeding birds, so their behavior links flowering patterns, pollination, and competition within the native forest community.

Females build open-cup nests, usually in ʻōhiʻa, and incubate clutches of one or two eggs. The male feeds the female while she is on the nest, and both parents contribute to raising the young. Newly fledged birds can begin feeding independently within roughly ten to fourteen days, and successful pairs may raise two or three broods during a breeding season. A reliable species-wide lifespan estimate is not available, but reproductive success depends on sustained nectar supplies and secure nesting habitat throughout the season.

ʻĀkohekohe is federally and state listed as endangered and is restricted to a small fraction of its former range on Maui. Avian malaria and pox, habitat loss and degradation, feral-pig damage, invasive plants, introduced predators, storms, and the risks inherent in a small isolated population all threaten its survival. For the Kauaʻi Conservation Atlas, the geographic distinction is essential: ʻĀkohekohe is a Hawaiian endemic, but it has no natural Kauaʻi population; its surviving native range is on Maui.