This is Birdnow.

The critically endangered Akohekohe, or crested honey creeper, is one of Hawaii's most striking native songbirds.

Akohekohe are endemic to the island of Maui, meaning they exist nowhere else on earth.

Slightly smaller than a robin, Akoecohe are uniformly dark with silver flecks on their face

and upper breast and patches of bright orange around their eyes and nape.

They also sport a fancy little tuft of white feathers on their foreheads.

Akohekohekohe primarily feed on nectar from the pom-pom-shaped flowers of the O'hiya tree.

With their exceptionally long legs, they dash through the treetops, performing acrobatic twists and splits to poke their heads into the fiery red O'hea blossoms.

Along the way, their fluffy crests collect pollen like a feather duster,

making Ah Kohe Kohe important forest pollinators. But habitat destruction, invasive mosquitoes,

and avian malaria have endangered these special birds. Today, the only remaining Akohekohe survive in a sliver of high elevation forest on Maui's eastern slopes,

where mosquitoes are more scarce, at least for now.

As climate change intensifies existing threats to Hawaii's native birds,

conservation organizations like the Maui Forest Bird Recovery Project are working hard to

ensure that Acohe have a future in their remote island home.

For Bird Note, I'm Mark Bramhill.