Hawaii Amakihi Life History

Habitat

Hawaii Amakihi occur in both dry and wet forests above roughly 300 meters (1,000 feet) elevation on Hawaii, Maui, and Molokai. On Hawaii they are most common in ohia, mamame, and mamane-naio forests above 1,500 meters (4,900 feet). On Maui they are common in native dry forest with ohia and mamane, but they also occur in some non-native habitats dominated by introduced conifers. Similarly, Hawaii Amakihi on Molokai occur in ohia forest and also in non-native habitats with introduced conifers and eucalyptus.

Food

Hawaii Amakihi feed mainly on small insects and other arthropods, and also take nectar, especially from ohia and mamane flowers. They are agile foragers, able to maneuver into almost any position to probe flowers or pick arthropods from leaves, blossoms, twigs, or branches.

Nesting

Nest Placement

Typically placed in the canopy of mamane or ohia trees in a fork in outer twigs or leaves.

Nest Description

An open cup made of twigs, leaves, grass stems, or rootlets and lined with lichens, rootlets, or animal hair.

Nesting Facts

Behavior

Hawaii Amakihi are monogamous, and pairs remain together in successive breeding seasons. The female builds the nest, incubates the eggs, and broods the young. Both parents feed the young. Hawaii Amakihi may forage alone, in pairs, in family groups, or in loose mixed-species flocks.

Conservation

The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists Hawaii Amakihi's conservation status as Least Concern and estimates the population at 400,000–800,000 mature individuals. Hawaii Amakihi has remained relatively common (compared to most other Hawaiian honeycreepers) due to its generalist foraging strategy, adaptability in habitat use (including non-native habitats), and the evolution of some amount of avian malaria resistance, which allows the species to exist in lower elevation habitats. Hawaii Amakihi historically occurred on Lanai in addition to Hawaii, Maui, and Molokai, but it was last seen on Lanai in 1976.

Credits

BirdLife International. 2023. Chlorodrepanis virens. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2023: e.T22720766A225552154. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2023-1.RLTS.T22720766A225552154.en

Floyd, T. (2025). Field Guide to the Birds of the United States and Canada. Eighth edition. National Geographic Society, Washington, D.C.

Lindsey, G. D., E. A. VanderWerf, H. Baker, and P. E. Baker (2020). Hawaii Amakihi (Chlorodrepanis virens), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (A. F. Poole, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.hawama.01

Names, G.R., Schultz, E.M., Hahn, T.P., Hunt, K.E., Angelier, F., Ribout, C. and Klasing, K.C. (2022), Variation in immunity and health in response to introduced avian malaria in an endemic Hawaiian songbird. Anim. Conserv., 25: 455-466. https://doi.org/10.1111/acv.12744

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.

Stokes, L. Q. and M. A. Young (2024). The Stokes Guide to Finches of the United States and Canada. Little, Brown and Company, New York, NY, USA.

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