Hawaiian Birds – Akekee

The ‘Akeke‘e is a small green and yellow bird found only in the mountains of Kaua‘i in the Hawaiian Archipelago. This Hawaiian honeycreeper lives above 3,250 feet elevation in native forests of the Alakaʻi Wilderness Preserve, Kōkeʻe State Park, and Waimea Canyon State Park.

Both sexes are greenish above, with yellow below, yellow cap and rump, and the female being slightly duller than the male. It is distinguished from other honeycreepers by its broad triangular face mask, long, notched tail, and conical bill. The bill is bluish gray, with the tip of lower mandible curved to one side. The active ʻAkekeʻe forages mostly in the native ‘ohi’a tree, and uses its unusual bill like scissors to cut open leaf and flower buds in search of insects to eat. This methodical probing is distinctive and helps identify it from a distance.

This Hawaiian honeycreeper was considered common in the late 1800s and into the early 1960s. The ‘akeke‘e population appeared to be relatively stable, even while other endemic Kaua‘i birds were sharply declining, and its population was estimated to be nearly 8,000 birds in 2000. However, the population dropped to approximately 3,500 birds by 2007, and is estimated to occupy only 10 to 12 percent of its original range. The ‘Akeke‘e (Loxops caeruleirostris) is now protected (2010) under the Endangered Species Act along with the ‘Akikiki. These two species join 33 other bird species listed as endangered and another listed as threatened in Hawai‘i. Photo by Jack Jeffrey.