- Himatione sanguinea
Identification
13 cm (5 in)
Adults are bright scarlet, with black wings and tails, and white vents. They have dark, slightly downcurved bills.
Juveniles are a mix of bronze, brown, grey and black, gradually acquiring their scarlet plumage.
Distribution
Hawaii. They are distributed throughout the main islands. The Apapane is the most numerous and widespread native forest bird in Hawaii.
Taxonomy
Monotypic[1] Formerly considered conspecific with the extinct Laysan Honeycreeper.
Habitat
Forest canopy.
Behaviour
'Apapane are the most shy of Hawai'i's forest birds.
Diet
'Apapane tend to stay in the upper parts of trees, actively gleaning insects from branches and leaves, and sipping nectar from tree blossoms.
Breeding
Nest is a cup made of moss, with a few twigs and leaves, lichens, etc. lined with shredded grass or sedge fibers. It is usually located on a high branch of a nonflowering tree, but they are sometimes located in tree cavities and lava tubes. Clutch of 1–4 (typically 3) whitish eggs with irregularly shaped brownish markings concentrated at the large end of egg.
Vocalisation
They are usually quite vocal, have the sweetest voice of Hawaii's forest birds. The feathers of their wings are modified to create a conspicuous whirring noise as they fly, which is a characteristic they share with the i'iwi. Large migrations, particularly during the quiet of a clear sunset, can fill the air with the whir of Apapane and i'iwi wings.
Movements
Resident. Wanders in search of nectar resources. On Hawaii, makes daily flights to lowland feeding areas. Frequently large numbers of Apapane are observed migrating between different areas of the island, seeking nectar sources or roosting sites.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2019. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2019. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Avibase
- Fancy, S. G. and C. J. Ralph (1997). Apapane (Himatione sanguinea), version 2.0. In The Birds of North America (A. F. Poole and F. B. Gill, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bna.296
- Pratt, D. (2020). Apapane (Himatione sanguinea). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from https://www.hbw.com/node/61450 on 6 February 2020).
- Pratt, H.D., Bruner, P., and Berrett, D.G. (1987) A Field Guide to the Birds of Hawaii and the Tropical Pacific. Princeton University Press.
- Pyle, R.L., and P. Pyle. 2017. The Birds of the Hawaiian Islands: Occurrence, History, Distribution, and Status. B.P. Bishop Museum, Honolulu, HI, U.S.A. Version 2 (1 January 2017) http://hbs.bishopmuseum.org/birds/rlp-monograph/
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Apapane. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 4 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Apapane
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
