Eggs, Nests, and Nesting Behavior of Akaipolaau (Drepanidinae)

Authors

Paul C. Banko, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Julia Williams, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Date of this Version

1993

Citation

Published in Wilson Bull. (1993) 105(3): 427-435.

Abstract

We describe the fifth verified nest and first verified egg of the Akiapolaau (Hemignathus munroi), an endangered Hawaiian honeycreeper. We dispute the validity of Bryan's (1905a) description of three eggs and two nests of the Akiapolaau. Eggs that he attributed to this species were much smaller than ours, and his nest descriptions did not match the only nest apparently belonging to the Akiapolaau in the B. P. Bishop Museum in Honolulu, where Bryan worked. Twigs and bark were distinctively combined in the nest that we examined. We compare eggs and nests of the Akiapolaau with those of other Hawaiian honeycreepers.