Forest Birds

Po‘ouli

Melamprosops phaeosoma

Photo: DOFAWSPECIES STATUS:
Federally Listed as Endangered
State Listed as Endangered
State Recognized as Endemic
NatureServe Heritage Rank: G1 - Critically Imperiled
IUCN Red List Ranking: Critically Endangered(Potentially Extinct)
Revised Recovery Plan for Hawaiian Forest Birds - USFWS 2006

SPECIES INFORMATION: The po‘ouli is a stocky Hawaiian honeycreeper (Family:Fringillidae) endemic to Maui that was not discovered until 1973. Po‘ouli have short wings andtail, a finch-like bill, and distinctive plumage. Aptly named “black-faced” in Hawaiian, po‘ouli
have a large black face mask, white cheeks, throat, and underparts and brown wings and back;no other Hawaiian forest bird is similarly colored. Although not well-studied, males andfemales are similar, although females have a grayish throat and breast. Little is known of thespecies’ life history. Po‘ouli often join mixed species foraging flocks. Forages primarily in thesubcanopy and understory on tree branches of native shrubs and trees where they search moss,lichens, and bark for snails and arthropods. Breeding biology is based on observations from asingle nesting pair and may be biased because of extremely low population density. Forexample, territorial behavior has not been observed. Nests are similar to those of other
Hawaiian honeycreepers and are placed in ‘ōhi‘a (Metrosideros polymorpha) trees. Only thefemale incubates eggs and broods nestlings; male feeds the female on and off the nest.
DISTRIBUTION: Likely restricted to a
1,300 hectare (3,200 acre) area between
1,440 and 2,100 meters (4,750 – 7,000feet) elevation on the northeastern slopeof Haleakalā on Maui. No historical dataon range, although fossil evidence
indicates that po‘ouli once occurred overa wider geographic range.
ABUNDANCE: The Hawaiian Forest
Bird Survey (1980) estimated thepopulation at 140 ± 280 (95% confidenceinterval) individuals. As of 2003 there
were three known individuals. One
captured and brought into captivity in2004 died in November of that year andthe remaining two birds have not been seen since January 2004. The species’ poor detectability
Hawai‘i's State Wildlife Action PlanOctober 1, 2015

has hampered attempts to locate additional individuals or estimate population size. The species
is potentially extinct.
LOCATION AND CONDITION OF KEY HABITAT: Mixed shrub montane wet forest
dominated by ‘ōhi‘a, with an understory dominated by a diversity of small trees and shrubs,
many of which are used as foraging substrates (e.g., kanawao [Broussaissea arguta], kawa’u [Ilexanomala]). Habitat conditions in areas occupied by po‘ouli are variable, but improving. All
known individuals occur (red) in the Hanawī Natural Area Reserve which is managed by theState of Hawai‘i.
THREATS: Unknown. However, po‘ouli is likely susceptible to the same factors that threaten
other native Hawaiian forest birds, including habitat loss and degradation, predation byintroduced mammals, and disease. For po‘ouli, the following are likely of particular concern: Habitat degradation. The species appears to prefer areas with low levels of soil andvegetation disturbance and therefore may be particularly sensitive to understory andground cover damage by feral pigs (Sus scrofa).
 Predation. Rats (Rattus spp.) are abundant in po‘ouli habitat and may depredate adultsand nests.
 Competition. In addition to direct predation on adults and nests, rats also may competewith po’ouli for food resources, especially snails. Also, the non-native garlic snail(Oxychilus alliarius) is abundant and preys on native snails.
CONSERVATION ACTIONS: Major efforts to conserve po’ouli include the establishment of
the 3,000 hectares (7,500 acres) Hanawī Natural Area Reserve in 1986 to protect the species’entire known range, and fencing and pig removal has facilitated recovery of the understory. In1995, the Maui Forest Bird Recovery Project was created to research and protect native
Hawaiian forest birds, including the po‘ouli. Activities to date include small mammal control,
research on optimizing rodent control methods, surveys for native land snails, and banding andcollecting blood samples to monitor demography and disease prevalence. In 2002, the teamsuccessfully translocated a female po‘ouli to the home range of the male, however, she quickly
returned to her own home range. In September 2004, one po‘ouli was captured in an attempt toestablish a captive population but it died in November of the same year. The Hawai‘iDepartment of Land and Natural Resources and the U.S. Geological Survey continue to search
Hanawī and adjacent habitats for additional birds. In addition, po‘ouli populations likely havebenefited from management efforts to conserve other endangered forest birds on northeastern
Haleakalā including fencing, ungulate and small mammal control, forest restoration, habitat
monitoring, and studies on disease and disease vectors. In addition to these efforts, futuremanagement specific to the po’ouli may include the following: Continue pig and small mammal control efforts.
 Continue efforts to locate and capture the two known individuals and additional birds.
 Conduct public outreach about the importance of pig and rodent control to theremaining forest bird populations on Maui.
 Continue protection and management of wildlife sanctuaries and refuges.
MONITORING: Continue forest bird surveys and habitat monitoring.
RESEARCH PRIORITIES: Research priorities for most Hawaiian forest birds include
improving methods for controlling rats and feral cats in native forests, determining theHawai‘i's State Wildlife Action PlanOctober 1, 2015

ecological requirements of Culex mosquitoes at mid- and high-elevation forests, and developing
methods to control mosquito populations. In addition to the ongoing research on po‘ouli
outlined above, additional priorities specific to po’ouli include the following: Determine the distribution and abundance of the species’ prey base to determine if foodresource is a limiting factor.
References:
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2015. Version 2014.3. Available at: www.iucnredlist.org. (AccessedMay 2015).
Pratt TK, Kepler CB, Casey TLC. 1997. Po’ouli (Melamprosops phaesoma). In The Birds of North America,No. 272 (Poole A, Gill F, editors). Philadelphia, (PA): The Academy of Natural Sciences; andWashington DC: The American Ornithologists' Union.
Scott JM, Mountainspring S, Ramsey FL, Kepler CB. 1986. Forest bird communities of the Hawaiian
islands: their dynamics, ecology and conservation. Lawrence, (KS): Cooper Ornithological Society.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2006. Revised Recovery plan for Hawaiian forest birds. Portland, (OR):U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 428 pp.

Hawai‘i's State Wildlife Action Plan
October 1, 2015