[Illustration: AMAKIHI
(male)]
DESCRIPTION: 4½″. Yellow-green with no outstanding markings, and a dark
slightly downcurved bill. The male is bright green above with a
yellowish breast, while the female and immatures are duller, tending
toward gray-green. It is a real problem to distinguish between a female
or young amakihi and the very rare Hawaiian creeper (next bird).
PARK DISTRIBUTION: Kilauea—Very common on the slopes of Mauna Loa around
tree-line (for example along the Mauna Loa trail); less common in the
wet ohia forests around Kilauea Crater and along the Chain of Craters
road. Haleakala—Common in the open forests such as Hosmer Grove and
Paliku.
VOICE: The usual song, a slow tinkling trill,
_tink-tink-tink-tink-tink-tink-tink_ or _wheedle-wheedle-wheedle_, etc.,
is uttered by the male. Commonest foraging note (both sexes) is a high
_djeee_; another note is _wheee_ with a rising inflection.
You will see a little green bird flit into a mamani or other nearby tree
and begin to seek insects among the foliage, visiting the blossoms for
nectar if the tree happens to be in bloom. You hear a buzzy _djeee_ and
you have made acquaintance with the amakihi. This Hawaiian honeycreeper
prefers more open forest than do the other two common members of the
family, the apapane and iiwi. But often all three are found together,
with the amakihis working through the entire foliage and not just in the
tree tops.
Seasonal movements are much less obvious than for either apapanes or
iiwis, probably because amakihis are less dependent on flowering
periods. However, some migration does occur, especially in and out of
their lower range below 3,000 feet elevation. Nesting is in late spring
and early summer.