Habitat
Hawaii Creepers inhabit wet mountain forests on the island of Hawaii between 1,000 and 2,300 meters (3,300–7,500 feet) elevation. They are most common in old-growth forests with large ohia or koa trees, but they also occur in high numbers in some disturbed forests and woodlands.
Back to topFood
Hawaii Creepers feed primarily on spiders, spider eggs, adult and larval insects, and insect eggs. They forage by creeping along trunks and branches, turning frequently from side to side, and probing under bark and within moss and lichen clumps.
Back to topNesting
Nest Placement
Typically placed high (12–14 meters, or 39–46 feet) in ohia lehua or koa trees, on major branches, in small twigs, or in cavities.
Nest Description
Usually an open cup. Limited nest descriptions include one made mostly of ohia lehua bark and lined with grasses and lichen, and another built mainly from liverworts and fern trunk fibers and lined with olapa fibers. The outside of nests include lichens, mosses, and liverworts for camouflage.
Nesting Facts
| Egg Description: | Dull white with brown splotches that are densest near the wide end. |
Behavior
True to their name, Hawaiian Creepers move haltingly along trunks and branches, either stepping or hopping forward 1–2 centimeters (0.5–1 inch) every few seconds. They also fly from branch to branch or tree to tree. Hawaii Creepers are socially monogamous and maintain long-term pair bonds. Birds occur alone, in pairs, or in family groups for most of the year, but from June to October, family groups join mixed-species feeding flocks with Hawaii Akepa and other native Hawaiian forest birds.
Back to topConservation
The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists Hawaii Creeper's conservation status as Endangered due to its very small and contracting range, declining population, and susceptibility to avian malaria, which has been expanding upslope due to climate change. The total population was estimated at 14,000 individuals in 2009, but numbers declined by an estimated 20% to 40% between 2010 and 2019.
Back to topCredits
BirdLife International. 2023. Manucerthia mana. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2023: e.T22720814A220553709. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2023-1.RLTS.T22720814A220553709.en.
Floyd, Ted (2025). Field Guide to the Birds of the United States and Canada. Eighth edition. National Geographic Society, Washington, D.C.
Lepson, J. K., B. L. Woodworth, S. G. Mlodinow, and P. Pyle (2024). Hawaii Creeper (Loxops mana), version 2.0. In Birds of the World (N. D. Sly, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.hawcre.02
Pratt, H.D., Bruner, P.L. and Berrett, D.G. (1987). A Field Guide to the Birds of Hawaii and the Tropical Pacific. Princeton Univ. Press, Princeton, New Jersey.
Raine, H. and A. F. Raine (2020). American Birding Association Field Guide to Birds of Hawai'i. Scott & Nix, Inc. New York, NY, USA.