Kākāwahie, or Moloka'i Creeper, 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 Molokai creeper (
Paroreomyza flammea,
or kākāwahie in the Hawaiian language) was listed as endangered on October 13, 1970 (35 FR 16047), and was included in the Maui-Molokai Forest Birds Recovery Plan (USFWS 1984, pp. 18-20) and the Revised Recovery Plan for Hawaiian Forest Birds (USFWS 2006, pp. 2-121- 2-123). At the time of listing, the Molokai creeper was considered extremely rare and faced threats from habitat loss, avian disease, and predation by introduced mammals.
Adult males were mostly scarlet in various shades, while adult females were brown with scarlet washes and markings, and juvenile males ranged from brown to scarlet with many gradations. The bill was short and straight. Its calls were described as chip or chirping notes similar to other creeper calls (USFWS 2006, pp. 2-122). Its closest relatives are the Maui creeper (
Paroreomyza montana
) and the Oahu creeper (
P. maculata
). The species' coloration and bill shape were distinctive, and Molokai creeper was identified visually with confidence.
The last confirmed detection of the Molokai creeper was in 1963.