Hemignathus ellisianus

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Bibliography

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	AVES	PASSERIFORMES	FRINGILLIDAE

Scientific Name:

Hemignathus ellisianus

Species Authority:

(Gray, 1859)

Common Name/s:

English

–

Greater Akialoa

Taxonomic Notes:

Hemignathus obscurus (Sibley and Monroe 1990, 1993) was previously split into obscura following AOU (1998) and Brooks (2000), and ellisiana, lanaiensis and stejnegeri following Brooks (2000), who also transferred these species to the genus Akialoa. The latter three taxa are now lumped as H. ellisianus following AOU (1998).

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:

Extinct ver 3.1

Year Published:

2012

Assessor/s:

BirdLife International

Reviewer/s:

Butchart, S. & Symes, A.

Contributor/s:

Justification:
This species was found in the Hawaiian Islands, USA, but it is now Extinct as a result of forest clearance and introduced disease. The last report was of the subspecies stejnegeri on Kaua'i in 1969.

History:

2008	–	Extinct
2004	–	Not Recognized
2000	–	Not Recognized
1994	–	Not Recognized
1988	–	Not Recognized

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	Hemignathus ellisianus forms a complex of three subspecies, all of which are now considered extinct. The nominate was endemic the mountains of O'ahu, Hawaii, USA (Stattersfield et al. 1998). It is known from only two specimens collected in 1837 (Olson and James 1995), although there were undocumented reports in 1937 and 1940 (Greenway 1967). H. e. lanaiensis was found on Lana'i, Hawaii (Stattersfield et al. 1998). It is known from only three specimens, collected in 1892. In addition, fossil material allied to this taxon has been found on Moloka'i and Maui. H. e. stejnegeri was found on Kaua'i, Hawaii(Olson and James 1995, Stattersfield et al. 1998). It survived for the longest of any of the three subspecies, in Kaua'i's Alaka'i Wilderness Preserve, but has not been recorded since 1969 despite intensive surveys in the region and is presumed extinct (Olson and James 1995, Gorresen et al. 2009).
Countries:	Regionally extinct: United States (Hawaiian Is.); United States (Hawaiian Is.)
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	It inhabited all forest up types above 200 m (Gorresen et al. 2009), feeding on insects and nectar (Amante-Helweg et al. 2009).
Systems:	Terrestrial

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	All three subspecies are thought to have been driven to extinction by habitat destruction and disease (Collar et al. 1994). Introduced predators and hurricane damage are likely to have also been important on Kaua'i (Woodworth et al. 2009).

Major Threat(s):

All three subspecies are thought to have been driven to extinction by habitat destruction and disease (Collar et al. 1994). Introduced predators and hurricane damage are likely to have also been important on Kaua'i (Woodworth et al. 2009).

Bibliography [top]

	Amante-Helweg, V.L.U., Pratt, L.W. and Pratt, T.K. 2009. Hawaiian pronunciation guide and glossary. In: Pratt, T.K., Atkinson, C.T., Banko, P.C., Jacobi, J.D. and Woodworth, B.L. (eds), Conservation Biology of Hawaiian Forest Birds: Implications for Island Avifauna, pp. 581-590. Yale University Press, New Haven. Collar, N. J.; Crosby, M. J.; Stattersfield, A. J. 1994. Birds to watch 2: the world list of threatened birds. BirdLife International, Cambridge, U.K. Gorresen, P.M., Camp, R.J., Reynolds, M.H., Woodworth, B.L. and Pratt, T.K. 2009. Status and trends of native Hawaiian songbirds. In: Pratt, T.K., Atkinson, C.T., Banko, P.C., Jacobi, J.D. and Woodworth, B.L. (eds), Conservation Biology of Hawaiian Forest Birds: Implications for Island Avifauna, pp. 108-136. Yale University Press, New Haven. Greenway, J. C. 1967. Extinct and vanishing birds of the world. Dover Publications, New York. IUCN. 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (ver. 2012.1). Available at: http://www.iucnredlist.org. (Accessed: 19 June 2012). Olson, S. L.; James, H. F. 1995. Nomenclature of the Hawaiian Akialoas and Nukupuus (Aves: Drepanidini). Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 108: 373-387. Pratt, H. D.; Bruner, P. L.; Berrett, D. G. 1987. A field guide to the birds of Hawaii and the tropical Pacific. Princeton University Press, Princeton. Stattersfield, A. J.; Crosby, M. J.; Long, A. J.; Wege, D. C. 1998. Endemic bird areas of the world: priorities for bird conservation. BirdLife International, Cambridge, U.K. Woodworth, B.L., Lieberman, A.A., Nelson, J.T. and Fretz, J.S. 2009. Puaiohi. In: Pratt, T.K., Atkinson, C.T., Banko, P.C., Jacobi, J.D. and Woodworth, B.L. (eds), Conservation Biology of Hawaiian Forest Birds: Implications for Island Avifauna, pp. 499-512. Yale University Press, New Haven.

Amante-Helweg, V.L.U., Pratt, L.W. and Pratt, T.K. 2009. Hawaiian pronunciation guide and glossary. In: Pratt, T.K., Atkinson, C.T., Banko, P.C., Jacobi, J.D. and Woodworth, B.L. (eds), Conservation Biology of Hawaiian Forest Birds: Implications for Island Avifauna, pp. 581-590. Yale University Press, New Haven.

Collar, N. J.; Crosby, M. J.; Stattersfield, A. J. 1994. Birds to watch 2: the world list of threatened birds. BirdLife International, Cambridge, U.K.

Gorresen, P.M., Camp, R.J., Reynolds, M.H., Woodworth, B.L. and Pratt, T.K. 2009. Status and trends of native Hawaiian songbirds. In: Pratt, T.K., Atkinson, C.T., Banko, P.C., Jacobi, J.D. and Woodworth, B.L. (eds), Conservation Biology of Hawaiian Forest Birds: Implications for Island Avifauna, pp. 108-136. Yale University Press, New Haven.

Greenway, J. C. 1967. Extinct and vanishing birds of the world. Dover Publications, New York.

IUCN. 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (ver. 2012.1). Available at: http://www.iucnredlist.org. (Accessed: 19 June 2012).

Olson, S. L.; James, H. F. 1995. Nomenclature of the Hawaiian Akialoas and Nukupuus (Aves: Drepanidini). Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 108: 373-387.

Pratt, H. D.; Bruner, P. L.; Berrett, D. G. 1987. A field guide to the birds of Hawaii and the tropical Pacific. Princeton University Press, Princeton.

Stattersfield, A. J.; Crosby, M. J.; Long, A. J.; Wege, D. C. 1998. Endemic bird areas of the world: priorities for bird conservation. BirdLife International, Cambridge, U.K.

Woodworth, B.L., Lieberman, A.A., Nelson, J.T. and Fretz, J.S. 2009. Puaiohi. In: Pratt, T.K., Atkinson, C.T., Banko, P.C., Jacobi, J.D. and Woodworth, B.L. (eds), Conservation Biology of Hawaiian Forest Birds: Implications for Island Avifauna, pp. 499-512. Yale University Press, New Haven.

Citation:	BirdLife International 2012. Hemignathus ellisianus. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 25 May 2013.
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