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Iiwi

Vestiaria coccineaOrder: PASSERIFORMESFamily: Finches (Fringillidae)

Iiwi Portrait
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General

Iiwi: Vibrant red plumage overall with black wings and tail. Wings show contrasting white patch on inner secondaries. Salmon-colored bill is long and decurved. Sexes are similar. Legs and feet are pink. Juveniles have ivory or light brown bills bills and black-tipped, green feathers that fade to yellow as they age. May show some red on scapulars or face. Wings and tail are gray-black.

Range and Habitat

Iiwi: Large colonies exist on the islands of Hawaii, Maui, and Kauai, comon in wet forests at hight elevations. There are less than 50 individuals on the lower elevation islands of Oahu and Molokai, and they are now extinct on Lanai. Prefers to keep hidden among the leaves.

Voice Text

"chu-weet"

Interesting Facts

  • The feathers of the Iiwi were used by Native Hawaiians to create robes for nobility, giving rise to its scientific name, vestiaria, from the latin word for clothing, and coccinea, scarlet-colored. The juveniles were once thought to be a different species because of their golden plumage and ivory bills.
  • Over the past 100 years, its bill length has shrunk by .5mm, this may reflect its diet of shorter flowers such as from the 'ohia tree, instead of the longer curved lobelioid flowers which have become endangered.
  • This honeycreeper is a member of the Finch rather than the Tanager family, where honeycreepers found in Central and South America are currently placed. Its subfamily, Drepanidinae was formerly considered a family, has become a subfamily of the Fringillidae family due to advances in molecular studies.
  • A group of honeycreepers are collectively known as a "hive" of honeycreepers.


Author

Crystal Adams

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Range Map for Iiwi
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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.
Family
Species Vestiaria coccinea
Length5.5 - 5.75 Inches
Wingspan Inches

Iiwi

Iiwi: Vibrant red plumage overall with black wings and tail. Wings show contrasting white patch on inner secondaries. Salmon-colored bill is long and decurved. Undulating flight, alternates several rapid wing beats with wings pulled to sides. Wings produce a characteristic whirring noise in flight.

● Song: "chu-weet"

● Foraging & Feeding: Iiwi: Feeds mostly on the nectar of the 'ohi'a flower but will take other nectar and insects from the understory. They are very aggressive and will chase away smaller species from their feeding trees.

● Breeding & nesting: Iiwi: Two to four white eggs with reddish brown marks are laid in a cup nest of twigs, ferns, and lichens built in the crown of the 'ohi'a tree. Breeding can occur as early as October and continue through August. The female incubates the eggs for 14 days, chicks fledge 21 to 24 days after hatching.

● Similar species: Iiwi: Apapane has a shorter, less curved black bill, is a more crimson color, and has white undertail coverts and lower abdomen.

Flight Pattern

Alternates several rapid wing beats with wings pulled to sides.
Iiwi Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Iiwi: Large colonies exist on the islands of Hawaii, Maui, and Kauai, comon in wet forests at hight elevations. There are less than 50 individuals on the lower elevation islands of Oahu and Molokai, and they are now extinct on Lanai. Prefers to keep hidden among the leaves.
BreedingMonogamous
PopulationDeclining
MigrationNonmigratory
Weight0.63 Ounces