Hawaii Elepaio

Basic Description

The Hawaii Elepaio is fairly common in wet mountain forests on the island of Hawaii. These bold, inquisitive songbirds forage energetically for spiders and insects and often fly in to inspect hikers passing through their territories. Adults are highly variable—ranging from mostly rufous-brown to individuals with white head and underparts—but all have white wingbars, rump, and tail tips. Immatures are gray and whitish, with rusty wingbars and rump. Despite an estimated population size of 140,000 adults, Hawaii Elepaio are considered Near Threatened for their tiny range and declining population.