Hawaiian honeycreeperArticle Free Pass Hawaiian honeycreeper,
any member of a group of related birds, many of them nectar-
eating, that evolved in the forests of the Hawaiian Islands and
are found only there. Recent evidence from osteology, behaviour,
plumage, breeding biology, and genetics has led to a consensus
that the Hawaiian honeycreepers are closely related to the
cardueline finches, which include birds such as goldfinches,
canaries, siskins, and crossbills. They constitute the family
Drepanididae within the order Passeriformes. Most of the species
are called by native names (see amakihi; apapane; iiwi; mamo).
Habitat destruction and the introduction of foreign birds and
mammals have led to the extinction of at least 8 of the original
23 species; most of the survivors are endangered. Numerous
subspecies are known. Hawaiian honeycreepers differ in certain
ways from American honeycreepers. Isolated in the mid-Pacific,
they underwent a remarkable evolutionary radiation, diversifying
in the manner of the be