TIS THOUGHT the ancestor of the Hawaiian honeycreepers was a finch-like bird that arrived on the newly formed volcanic island several million years ago. It has since evolved into a large number of species, each with a distinctive beak shape suited to its favoured food. Many are now extinct, including the seed-eating Grosbeak finch and the fruit-eating Ou. The liwi (Vestiaria coccinea) pictured, evolved a beak shape suitable for extracting nectar from the flowers of a species of lobelia. It is one of a range of ornate beak shapes which co-evolved with the long, tube-shaped flowers. Such specialisation has meant that the extinction of either plant or bird has sealed the fate of the other. This coevolution is mirrored in New Zealand’s wattle birds.
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Forest and Bird, Issue 268, 1 May 1993, Page 16
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124TIS THOUGHT the ancestor of the Hawaiian honeycreepers was a finch-like bird that arrived on the newly formed volcanic island several million years ago. It has since evolved into a large number of species, each with a distinctive beak shape suited to its favoured food. Many are now extinct, including the seed-eating Grosbeak finch and the fruit-eating Ou. The liwi (Vestiaria coccinea) pictured, evolved a beak shape suitable for extracting nectar from the flowers of a species of lobelia. It is one of a range of ornate beak shapes which co-evolved with the long, tube-shaped flowers. Such specialisation has meant that the extinction of either plant or bird has sealed the fate of the other. This coevolution is mirrored in New Zealand’s wattle birds. Forest and Bird, Issue 268, 1 May 1993, Page 16
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