Habitat
Anianiau originally occurred throughout Kauai, but it is now restricted to mountain forests on the island between 600 and 1,600 meters (2,000–5,200 feet) elevation. The species is most common in ohia lehua forest in the Alakai Swamp—one of the wettest places on earth—but it occurs in a variety of habitats, including dry valleys and also disturbed forests dominated by non-native plants.
Back to topFood
Anianiau feed mainly on nectar and arthropods, especially caterpillars and spiders. They forage by picking insects from leaves and twigs and probing flowers for nectar, which they then consume by rolling up their brushy-tipped tongue to form a tube.
Back to topNesting
Nest Placement
Placed in the crown of ohia lehua trees or in small branches near the main trunk. Nest is woven around small vertical branches. Height ranges from 3.3 to 9.5 meters (11–31 feet) above the ground.
Nest Description
An open cup constructed of mosses, liverworts, lichens, ohia lehua leaves and twigs, bark strips, grasses, sedges, and rootlets.
Nesting Facts
| Egg Description: | Whitish with irregular tan to reddish brown blotches. |
Behavior
Anianiau are small, active birds, constantly moving as they hop about branches or hang from vegetation. They are socially monogamous and both sexes help build the nest and care for the young. This honeycreeper usually occurs alone, in pairs, or in family groups.
Back to topConservation
The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists Anianiau's conservation status as Endangered and estimates the number of mature individuals at 3,000–5,000 as of 2023. The IUCN notes Anianiau's very small and contracting range, a population decline of more than 60% in 10 years, and high susceptibility to avian malaria, which has been expanding upslope on Kauai due to climate change.
Back to topCredits
BirdLife International. 2023. Magumma parva. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2023: e.T22720774A182519540. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2023-1.RLTS.T22720774A182519540.en.
Floyd, Ted (2025). Field Guide to the Birds of the United States and Canada. Eighth edition. National Geographic Society, Washington, D.C.
Lepson, J. K. (2020). Anianiau (Magumma parva), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (A. F. Poole and F. B. Gill, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.aniani.01
Pratt, H.D., Bruner, P.L. and Berrett, D.G. (1987). A Field Guide to the Birds of Hawaii and the Tropical Pacific. Princeton Univ. Press, Princeton, New Jersey.
Raine, H. and A. F. Raine (2020). American Birding Association Field Guide to Birds of Hawai'i. Scott & Nix, Inc. New York, NY, USA.