Creature Feature Encyclopedia: Aves

I'iwi Vestiaria coccinea

the 'I'iwi (pronounced ee-EE-wee) lives only in Hawaii, and is one of the few Hawaiian honeycreepers that is not endangered. Its curved bill is designed to sipping nectar from the native lobelia flower. The 'I'iwi's plumage was traditionally used to make colorful cloaks and ornamentation for Hawaiian nobility. Hawaii holds the dubious distinction of being the endangered species capital of the United States. In the lowlands, native species are threatened by agricultural development and urbanization. Away from civilization, they face perhaps a more serious threat: displacement. Non-native animals such as goats, wild pigs and rats, as well as non-native plants, were brought there hundreds of years ago when Polynesians and then Europeans discovered the islands. The foreign animals multiplied and crowded out much of the native wildlife. Today, at least a thousand creatures that once inhabited Hawaii's lush forests are now extinct.

~A Fly in the Sky © 1996