Kaua'i 'o'o
Encyclopedia
The Kauai Ōō or Ōōāā (Moho braccatus) is a member of the extinct
genus of the Ōōs (Moho
) within the extinct family Mohoidae
from the islands of Hawai'i. It was previously regarded as member of the Australo-Pacific honeyeater
s (Meliphagidae). This bird was endemic to the island of Kauai
. It was common in the subtropical forests of the island until the early twentieth century, when its decline began. Its song was last heard in 1987 and it has since been declared extinct. The causes of its extinction include the introduction of the Black Rat
, domestic pig
, and mosquito
es carrying avian disease (avian malaria, Plasmodium relictum, and avian pox, Poxvirus avium), as well as habitat destruction.
This bird was among the smallest of the Hawaiian honeyeaters, if not the smallest species, at just over 20 centimetres (7.9 in) in length. It was black or very dark shiny brown with sparse yellow leg feathers and faint white banding on the breast and underwings. It was the only ‘ō’ō known to have eyes with yellowish irises. It was named the ōō āā by the natives which means dwarf ōō. Like other honeyeaters it had a sharp, slightly curved bill for sampling nectar. Its favored nectar sources were Lobelia species and the ohia lehua
tree, and it also ate small invertebrate
s and fruit
.
The bird was a cavity nester in the thickly forested canyons of Kauai. Many of its relatives have also become extinct, such as the Hawaii Ōō, Molokai Ōō, and Oahu Ōō. Little is known about these extinct birds. The species may have become extinct from a large range of problems, including mosquito-transmitted diseases, which caused the species to retreat to higher ground. Higher elevation forests lack tree cavities, so few, if any, nests could be made. The final blow was two hurricanes coming within ten years of each other. They destroyed many of the old trees with cavities, and prohibited tree growth when the second one arrived, causing the species to disappear. The bird was last sighted in 1985, and a sound recording made in 1987 by David Boynton
. It is conceivable that the species may survive undetected as the species had been proclaimed extinct twice: once in the 1940s (later rediscovered in 1950) and again from the late 1950s to the early 1970s, being rediscovered by S. R. Sabo. However, it has a loud and distinctive call, and intensive surveys have failed to find any since 1987.
In Culture: The album O'o
by jazz composer John Zorn
released in 2009 is named after the bird, and its artwork includes its likeness.
Extinction
In biology and ecology, extinction is the end of an organism or of a group of organisms , normally a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point...
genus of the Ōōs (Moho
Moho (genus)
Moho is a genus of extinct birds in the Hawaiian bird family, Mohoidae, that were endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. Members of the genus are known as Ōō in the Hawaiian language. Their plumage was generally striking glossy black; some species had yellowish axillary tufts and other black outer...
) within the extinct family Mohoidae
Mohoidae
Mohoidae is a family of Hawaiian species of recently extinct, nectarivorous songbirds in the genera Moho and Chaetoptila . These now extinct birds form their own family, representing the only complete extinction of an entire avian family in modern times, when the disputed family Turnagridae is...
from the islands of Hawai'i. It was previously regarded as member of the Australo-Pacific honeyeater
Honeyeater
The honeyeaters are a large and diverse family of small to medium sized birds most common in Australia and New Guinea, but also found in New Zealand, the Pacific islands as far east as Samoa and Tonga, and the islands to the north and west of New Guinea known as Wallacea...
s (Meliphagidae). This bird was endemic to the island of Kauai
Kauai
Kauai or Kauai, known as Tauai in the ancient Kaua'i dialect, is geologically the oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands. With an area of , it is the fourth largest of the main islands in the Hawaiian archipelago, and the 21st largest island in the United States. Known also as the "Garden Isle",...
. It was common in the subtropical forests of the island until the early twentieth century, when its decline began. Its song was last heard in 1987 and it has since been declared extinct. The causes of its extinction include the introduction of the Black Rat
Black Rat
The black rat is a common long-tailed rodent of the genus Rattus in the subfamily Murinae . The species originated in tropical Asia and spread through the Near East in Roman times before reaching Europe by the 1st century and spreading with Europeans across the world.-Taxonomy:The black rat was...
, domestic pig
Pig
A pig is any of the animals in the genus Sus, within the Suidae family of even-toed ungulates. Pigs include the domestic pig, its ancestor the wild boar, and several other wild relatives...
, and mosquito
Mosquito
Mosquitoes are members of a family of nematocerid flies: the Culicidae . The word Mosquito is from the Spanish and Portuguese for little fly...
es carrying avian disease (avian malaria, Plasmodium relictum, and avian pox, Poxvirus avium), as well as habitat destruction.
Metrosideros polymorpha
The ōhia lehua is a species of flowering evergreen tree in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, that is endemic to the six largest islands of Hawaii. It is a highly variable tree, being tall in favorable situations, and much smaller when growing in boggy soils or on basalt...
tree, and it also ate small invertebrate
Invertebrate
An invertebrate is an animal without a backbone. The group includes 97% of all animal species – all animals except those in the chordate subphylum Vertebrata .Invertebrates form a paraphyletic group...
s and fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
.
The bird was a cavity nester in the thickly forested canyons of Kauai. Many of its relatives have also become extinct, such as the Hawaii Ōō, Molokai Ōō, and Oahu Ōō. Little is known about these extinct birds. The species may have become extinct from a large range of problems, including mosquito-transmitted diseases, which caused the species to retreat to higher ground. Higher elevation forests lack tree cavities, so few, if any, nests could be made. The final blow was two hurricanes coming within ten years of each other. They destroyed many of the old trees with cavities, and prohibited tree growth when the second one arrived, causing the species to disappear. The bird was last sighted in 1985, and a sound recording made in 1987 by David Boynton
David Boynton
David Boynton , was a leading expert on the natural history of the Hawaiian island of Kauai, especially on the Koke'e Forest and the Alakai Swamp and its wildlife...
. It is conceivable that the species may survive undetected as the species had been proclaimed extinct twice: once in the 1940s (later rediscovered in 1950) and again from the late 1950s to the early 1970s, being rediscovered by S. R. Sabo. However, it has a loud and distinctive call, and intensive surveys have failed to find any since 1987.
In Culture: The album O'o
O'o
O'o is an album by John Zorn released in 2009. It is viewed as a sequel to his 2007 album The Dreamers and is the fifth album in his Music Romance series.-Track listing:# "Miller's Crake"# "Akialoa# "Po'o'uli"# "Little Bittern"...
by jazz composer John Zorn
John Zorn
John Zorn is an American avant-garde composer, arranger, record producer, saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist. Zorn is a prolific artist: he has hundreds of album credits as performer, composer, or producer...
released in 2009 is named after the bird, and its artwork includes its likeness.
External links
- Kauai ōō - only footage known to exist
- 3D view of specimens RMNH 110.028 and RMNH 110.029 at NaturalisNaturalisNaturalis is the national natural history museum of the Netherlands, based in Leiden. It originated from the merger of the Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie and the Rijksmuseum van Geologie en Mineralogie in 1984. In 1986 it was decided that the museum had to become a public museum and a new...
, Leiden (requires QuickTimeQuickTimeQuickTime is an extensible proprietary multimedia framework developed by Apple Inc., capable of handling various formats of digital video, picture, sound, panoramic images, and interactivity. The classic version of QuickTime is available for Windows XP and later, as well as Mac OS X Leopard and...
browser plugin).i Ōō |work=Hawaii’s Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy |publisher=State of Hawaii |date=2005-10-01 |accessdate=}}