Maui Ākepa, 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 Maui akepa was known only from the island of Maui in the Hawaiian Islands. Maui akepa were found in small groups with young in the month of June when the birds were molting (Henshaw 1902, p. 62). The species was observed preying on various insects including small beetles, caterpillars, and small spiders, as well as drinking the nectar of ohia (
Metrosideros polymorpha
) flowers (Rothschild 1893 to 1900, pp. 173-176; Henshaw 1902, p. 62; Perkins 1903, pp. 417-420). The species appeared to also use the ohia tree for nesting.
Maui akepa adult males varied from dull brownish orange to ochraceus (light brownish yellow), while females were duller and less yellowish (USFWS 2006, p. 2-134). Although the species was easily identifiable by sight, its small body size (less than 5 inches (13 centimeters) long) and habitat type (dense rain forest) made visual detection difficult. Songs and calls of Maui akepa could be confused with those of other Maui forest bird species; therefore, detection of the species requires visual confirmation of the individual producing the songs and calls.