Birdfinding.info ⇒ Locally common in Maui’s highland forests. It can usually be found on visits to Polipoli Spring, the Waikamoi Preserve, and the Hosmer Grove in Haleakala National Park.
Maui Alauahio
Paroreomyza montana
Endemic to Maui, where it occurs in various forest types at elevations of 900 to 2,500 m on slopes of Mount Haleakala.
Formerly occurred throughout Maui and Lanai, but extirpated from the latter around 1937. In the 1800s, it was considered abundant in many areas where it no longer occurs.
Modern estimates of the total population have fluctuated from around 35,000 in 1980 down to 20,000 in 1997 and up to 55,000 in 2011.
Identification
A small, warbler-like honeycreeper with a short straight or slightly decurved bill and remarkably variable plumages.
Definitive male plumage is bright golden-yellow overall, becoming duller toward the tail. Female is predominantly a dimmer shade of yellow, with largely olive upperparts.
Both sexes often show a dark eyeline, or sometimes a dark spot beside the eye (this marking might be limited to males).
Immatures are medium-gray above and whitish below, and usually show a distinct dark eyeline and pale brow. Subadults go through intermediate plumages with varying amounts and patterns of gray, yellow, and olive.
Maui Alauahio, male. © Robby Kohley
Maui Alauahio, male. (April 22, 2013.) © Hayataro Sakitsu
Maui Alauahio, male. (Waikamoi Preserve, Maui, Hawaii; November 6, 2014.) © Jim Denny
Maui Alauahio. (Waikamoi Preserve, Maui, Hawaii; July 14, 2016.) © Jacob Drucker
Maui Alauahio. (Waikamoi Preserve, Maui, Hawaii; September 9, 2017.) © Sharif Uddin
Maui Alauahio. (Hosmer Grove, Haleakala National Park, Maui, Hawaii; January 24, 2014.) © James Telford
Maui Alauahio, male. © Jack Jeffrey
Maui Alauahio, male. (Waikamoi Preserve, Maui, Hawaii; February 21, 2018.) © Peter Kaestner
Maui Alauahio, male. (Waikamoi Preserve, Maui, Hawaii; July 2, 2012.) © Daniel Lebbin
Maui Alauahio. (Hosmer Grove, Haleakala National Park, Maui, Hawaii; October 8, 2018.) © Stephan Lorenz
Maui Alauahio, male. (Hosmer Grove, Haleakala National Park, Maui, Hawaii; December 7, 2018.) © A. Laquidara
Maui Alauahio, female. (Hosmer Grove, Haleakala National Park, Maui, Hawaii; July 27, 2018.) © Frank Salmon
Maui Alauahio. (Waikamoi Preserve, Maui, Hawaii; April 27, 2017.) © Kenny Frisch
Maui Alauahio. (Hosmer Grove, Haleakala National Park, Maui, Hawaii; December 18, 2019.) © Curtis Mahon
Maui Alauahio. (Waikamoi Preserve, Maui, Hawaii; June 8, 2008.) © Michael Walther
Maui Alauahio. (Hosmer Grove, Haleakala National Park, Maui, Hawaii; February 21, 2018.) © Peter Kaestner
Maui Alauahio. (Hosmer Grove, Haleakala National Park, Maui, Hawaii; July 27, 2018.) © Frank Salmon
Maui Alauahio. © Jack Jeffrey
Maui Alauahio, female. (Waikamoi Preserve, Maui, Hawaii; May 5, 2010.) © Markus Lagerqvist
Maui Alauahio, immature. (Hosmer Grove, Haleakala National Park, Maui, Hawaii; June 30, 2016.) © Dubi Shapiro
Maui Alauahio, immature. (Hosmer Grove, Haleakala National Park, Maui, Hawaii; October 8, 2019.) © Lucas Berrigan
Maui Alauahio, immature. (Haleakala National Park, Maui, Hawaii; December 10, 2009.) © Donald Metzner
Maui Alauahio, immature. (Waikamoi Preserve, Maui, Hawaii; September 14, 2019.) © Dan Murphy
Maui Alauahio, immature. (Hosmer Grove, Haleakala National Park, Maui, Hawaii; January 10, 2016.) © Mark Tomboulian
Maui Alauahio, immature. (Hosmer Grove, Haleakala National Park, Maui, Hawaii; March 20, 2017.) © Jonathan Lethbridge
Maui Alauahio, immature. (Hosmer Grove, Haleakala National Park, Maui, Hawaii; July 14, 2018.) © Timo Mitzen
Maui Alauahio, immature. (Hosmer Grove, Haleakala National Park, Maui, Hawaii; March 20, 2017.) © Jonathan Lethbridge
Maui Alauahio. (Hosmer Grove, Haleakala National Park, Maui, Hawaii; November 28, 2017.) © Doug Cooper
Maui Alauahio, immature. © Jack Jeffrey
Maui Alauahio, female or immature. (Hosmer Grove, Haleakala National Park, Maui, Hawaii; May 3, 2018.) © Alan Schmierer
Maui Alauahio, immature with unusual black mark around eye. (Hosmer Grove, Haleakala National Park, Maui, Hawaii; April 27, 2019.) © Sharif Uddin
Maui Alauahio, immature. (Hosmer Grove, Haleakala National Park, Maui, Hawaii; January 20, 2016.) © Michael Hooper
Maui Alauahio, immature. (Hanawi Natural Area Reserve, Maui, Hawaii; May 8, 2009.) © Elliot Schunke
Maui Alauahio. (Hosmer Grove, Haleakala National Park, Maui, Hawaii; March 22, 2019.) © Geoff Malosh
Maui Alauahio. (Waikamoi Preserve, Maui, Hawaii; November 1, 2012.) © Dan Weedman
Maui Alauahio, immature. (Hosmer Grove, Haleakala National Park, Maui, Hawaii; December 24, 2017.) © Lucas Bobay
Maui Alauahio, immature. (Hosmer Grove, Haleakala National Park, Maui, Hawaii; January 20, 2016.) © Michael Hooper
Maui Alauahio, immature. (Hosmer Grove, Haleakala National Park, Maui, Hawaii; July 14, 2018.) © Timo Mitzen
Maui Alauahio. (Haleakala National Park, Maui, Hawaii; July 27, 2020.) © Simon Best
Maui Alauahio. (Hosmer Grove, Haleakala National Park, Maui, Hawaii; December 22, 2019.) © Henggang Cui
Maui Alauahio. (Hosmer Grove, Haleakala National Park, Maui, Hawaii; January 20, 2016.) © Michael Hooper
Maui Alauahio, glowing. (Hosmer Grove, Haleakala National Park, Maui, Hawaii; January 24, 2014.) © James Telford
Maui Alauahio. (Hosmer Grove, Haleakala National Park, Maui, Hawaii; October 15, 2017.) © Sharif Uddin
Maui Alauahio. (Hosmer Grove, Haleakala National Park, Maui, Hawaii; October 8, 2018.) © Stephan Lorenz
Maui Alauahio. (Waikamoi Preserve, Maui, Hawaii; July 2, 2012.) © Daniel Lebbin
Notes
Polytypic species consisting of two recognized subspecies, one of which went extinct around 1937.
IUCN Red List Status: Endangered.
References
BirdLife International. 2016. Paroreomyza montana. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T22720818A94684594. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22720818A94684594.en. (Accessed May 19, 2020.)
eBird. 2020. eBird: An online database of bird distribution and abundance. Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, N.Y. http://www.ebird.org. (Accessed May 19, 2020.)
Pratt, H.D. 2005. The Hawaiian Honeycreepers: Drepanidinae. Oxford University Press.
Pratt, H.D. 2020. Maui Alauahio (Paroreomyza montana). In Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D.A. Christie, and E. de Juana, eds.). Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. https://www.hbw.com/node/61432. (Accessed May 9, 2020.)
Pyle, R.L., and P. Pyle. 2017. The Birds of the Hawaiian Islands: Occurrence, History, Distribution, and Status. Version 2 (January 1, 2017). http://hbs.bishopmuseum.org/birds/rlp-monograph/. B.P. Bishop Museum, Honolulu, Hawaii.
Xeno-Canto. 2020. Maui Alauahio – Paroreomyza montana.. https://www.xeno-canto.org/species/Paroreomyza-montana. (Accessed May 19, 2020.)