Kāma'o, 2022
mixed media on paper with metallic accents
5.125" x 7"
$97 including US shipping
From the US Fish and Wildlife Service proposal for removing 23 species from the Federal Lists of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants due to extinction:
The large Kauai thrush ( Myadestes myadestinus, or kama`o in the Hawaiian language) was listed as endangered on October 13, 1970. Threats to the species included effects of low population numbers, habitat loss, avian disease, and predation by introduced mammals.
The large Kauai thrush was a medium-sized (7.9 inches, or 20 centimeters, total length) solitaire. Its plumage was gray-brown above, tinged with olive especially on the back, and light gray below with a whitish belly and undertail coverts. The large Kauai thrush lacked the white eye-ring and pinkish legs of the smaller puaiohi (small Kauai thrush, Myadestes palmeri ) (USFWS 2006, p. 2-19). There is no specific information on the life history of the large Kauai thrush; however, it is presumed that it is similar to the more common and closely related Hawaii thrush ( Myadestes obscurus ). Nests of the large Kauai thrush have not been described but may be a cavity or low platform, similar to those of the Hawaii thrush. Nesting likely occurred in the spring. The diet of the large Kauai thrush was reported to include fruits and berries, as well as insects and snails. The last (unconfirmed) observation of the large Kauai thrush was made during the February 1989 Kauai forest bird survey (Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources unpubl. data). However, the last credible sighting of the large Kauai thrush occurred in 1987.