The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1909-05-06


| carried to the extent of the male bird
| affectionately caressing its mate with
the beak. The whole performance last
ed several minutes.
The nigh pals of the island furnished
an excellent opportunity to observe the
Apapane in sustained flight. Flocks of
seven or eight or ten will, not infre-
| quentiy, fly from the forests at the edge
| OF these precipices, thousands of feet
| above the valley below, and with little
| concern, steer course that will take
| them IN o direct line as far as the eve
can follow them. At nightfall they are
| to be seen returning from their feed
ing grounds lower down on the noun
| talns or in the valleys flying swiftly
and directly in the higher attitudes to
| ro0st. This daily migration over open
| land or from place to place is very
strongly marked characteristic of this
| bird
| A number of nests-but unfortunate
| ly no eggs-Were secured. l am con-
| WINGED that the nesting season can
| not be well defined. In substantiation
| of this opinion, I find that in the Sc
ries of skins collected, two are imma-
ture, While perhaps five times that
number Of brownish-colored young
| were noted among the hundreds of
| adults seen at close range. This fact,
| coupled with the mating perform
ances and the enlarged testes and
ovaries examined would indicate that
on this island, at least. an occasional
| late brood is reared
| The series of eight nests do not
vary in material or location from
| oil
sufficient to warrant their redescrip-
| ton. However, deserted nest Mus
| No. 1888 taken from twenty feet up
| in a moss-covered ohia tree which was
| growing in the heart of the Puualu
| forest, is somewhat extraordinary in
| that it has returned to the original
! elements of which it was composed in
| stu. leaving a replica of itself in liv-
ing green moss. The structure is Of
| some years standing evidently. Old
| enough, at least, so that the moss and
| sticks of which it was composed have
had time to almost completely disin-
tegrate. That portion which remains
has. in the meantime, become COM
pletely covered with living moss, so
that the shape and general appear
ance of the nest is retained with just
enough of the old structure remaining
to account for it's form and history.
Chlorodrepanis kalaana (Wilson)
Without here entering into a discus
sion of the very minute characters
that have been used to separate this
species from the very closely allied
forms from Maui, Kauai and Oahu, it
viii be sufficient to say that the Sc
| e s,,I, Al
lokai confirm rather than disprove the
conclusions formerly arrived at
namely: that kalaana has been sep
arated as a species on characters that
are of doubtful subspecific value. Was
) it not for the definite geograp hical
factor which enters in for considera-
ton. the form would hardly have i'm
pressed the original describer as be-
ing worthy of designation as a sub
species.
, The Arlakihi is the second species
, in abundance on the island and was
met with throughout the forested dis
trict generally, often coming we'll
! down to the coast-line on the weather
side of the island, where conditions
are favorable. The species is socia BILE
by nature, usually feeding in small
companies, or, at least, never singly.
Their call note is a fine, clearly-whs-
> tied Use ct" This is usually given
when for any reason an individual
becomes detached from the flock or
separated by any distance from its
mate. The call note, as with most all
the mountain birds, is given more fire.
, quently during foggy, cloudy weather,
for obvious reasons. They are sure to
be found where sunny slopes covered
| with open woods are interspersed
with plenty of bushes and low shrubs.
In such situations. if food is
abundant, they become fairly estab-
: lished in their habits, often feeding
, over the same range a number Of
) times each day. Their song on such
| occasions is usually frequent and
identical, I believe, for both sexes. 1t
{ consists simply of a repetition of ITS
chee chee-che chez chez Chez trilled
: without variation, in a surprisingly
loud and penetrating voice, which al
? ways impresses one as being forced
r and metallic in quality.
g Though generally favoring woods of
!. the character described. they are to
be met with in all sorts of places. /
nave fOuIu CHetll-uSudlIy III iSOIdlStl
: pairs. it is true-in the darkest and
5 wettest parts of the forests, where
1 flowers were almost wholly wanting.
t In such places they were feeding on
y. the limbs and leaves of the trees high
: over head. At other times, they are
! plentiful on the low bushes growing
! on the sharp, and more or less dry
= | and barren ridges. Or, again, they
| will be met with on the outskirts Of
the forest feeding on the flowers and
: leaves of whatever species of tree OF
:, shrub was at hand, not even shun
ming the introduced species, as Ian
- tana and guava, which crowd vel
!. into the edge of the forests in some
- places In their feeding, however
there is a preference shown for tbs
ohfa both in and out of flower. Lo.
belias, especially the Mowers. wert
+ seldom visited. But the white bloom
: as we'll as the leaves. of the Scaevola
J. were always carefully inspected by
l. them.
r ITO be Continued.)
Il