ʻĀmaui
Names
- ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi: ʻĀmaui
- Common Name: ʻOʻahu thrush
- Scientific: Myadestes woahensis
Song
No available recordings. The ʻāmaui thrush was known to have an incomparable, loud song that was overbearing of other bird songs with it’s “alarm note” and “whistle” like call note (Perkins 1903).
Conservation Status
Extinct. The last recorded sighting was in 1825.
Species Information
The Oʻahu thrush was described as a small bird with dull colors. Naturalist Andrew Bloxam is the only person known to have collected Oʻahu thrush specimens (Olson 1994). The specimens included an adult and juvenile. Bloxam originally described the ʻāmaui as an ʻōmaʻo (Pyle & Pyle, 2017). The Oʻahu thrush was documented as being last seen on Oʻahu in 1825.
Distribution
O’ahu
Habitat
Little is known about the ʻāmaui. The two specimens known to science were collected in Nuʻuanu Valley (Pyle & Pyle 2017). One may assume their habitat to be similar to that of existing thrush species, including wet, mesic forests.
Threats
Although the exact cause of extinction is uncertain, Oʻahu thrush likely were susceptible to the same factors that threaten other native Hawaiian forest birds including loss and degradation of habitat, predation by introduced mammals, and disease.
Photos
The image below (and in the banner above) are from the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum. Additional photos are available on the Bishop Museum website.
Additional Resources
Olson, S. L., & James, H. F. (1994). A Chronology of Ornithological Exploration in the Hawaiian Islands, from Cook to Perkins. Studies in Avian Biology.
Perkins, R. C. L. (1903). Vertebrata (Vol. 1). At the University Press.