The Hawai'i rare bird search 1994-1996

We compiled the recent history of sightings and searched for 13 rare and missing Hawaiian forest birds to update status and distribution information. We made 23 expeditions between August 1994 and April 1996 on the islands of Hawai‘i, Maui, Moloka‘i, and Kaua‘i totaling 1,685 search hours, 146 field days, and 553 person days. During our surveys we found four critically endangered birds: the Po‘ouli (Melamprusops phaeosoma, five to six individuals), Maui Nukupu‘u (Hemignathus lucidus affinis, one individual), ‘I‘iwi (Vestiaria coccinea) on Moloka‘i (one individual), and the Puaiohi (Myadestes palmeri, 55-70 individuals). Detection rates for each species were 0.013, 0.002, 0.012, and 0.318 detections/hr, respectively. Although not visually confirmed during our surveys, auditory detections, unconfirmed sightings, and other reports suggest the possible existence of ‘O‘u (Psittirostra psittacea) on Hawai‘i, Kaua‘i Nukupu‘u (Hemignathus lucidus hanapepe), and Maui ‘Akepa (Loxops coccineus ochraceus) in perilously low numbers. Six undetected forest bird populations, Kama‘o (Myadestes myudestinus), Kaua‘i ‘O‘o (Moho braccatus), Bishop’s ‘O‘o (Moho bishopi), ‘O‘o on Kaua‘i, Greater ‘Akialoa (Hemignafhus ellisianus), and Kakawahie (Paroveomyza flammea) have high probabilities of being extinct. Oloma‘o (Myadestes lanaiensis) from Moloka‘i are probably extirpated from the areas searched on that island but may persist on the unsurveyed Oloku‘i Plateau.