Mamo

A mamo or hoohoo is an bird of the genus Drepanis. These nectar-feeding passerines were endemic to Hawaii but are now extinct.

The Hawaiian name may be related to the name of the "O'o" (Moho nobilis) a bird with a similar appearance. Another name for the mamo was O'O-nuku-umu or "O'o with the sucking beak".

Two species are known.

Hawaiʻi Mamo

The Hawai'i Mamo (D. pacifica) was about 9 inches in length. Plumage was glossy black with yellow rumps and thigh feathers and a small yellow shoulder patch. The tail was black and there was a white basal primary patch and white shafts along the primaries. The bill was long, curved and black. Legs were dark gray or black

This was a shy species that lived in the forest canopy and fed on nectar of lobelia that possessed curved, tubular flowers. Its call was a long, plaintive whistle.

The bright golden-yellow feathers of the Hawai`i mamo were prized for the featherwork worn by the Hawaiian royalty. The famous yellow cloak of Kamehameha I is estimated to have taken the reigns of eight monarchs and the golden feathers of 80,000 Hawai'i Mamos before it was completed.

The Hawai'i Mamo was last seen in 1899 near Kaumana on Hawai'i by a collector, H. W. Henshaw, who, as mentioned by Tim Flannery in his book, <u>A Gap In Nature</u>, shot and wounded a bird he was stalking, before it escaped him with another bird.

Black Mamo

The Black Mamo (D. funerea) was about 8 inches and length and appeared similar to the Hawai'i Mamo but was entirely black except for the white primary shafts on the wings. The bill was more sharply decurved than the former species and had a small yellowy spot near the base (on the operculum).

When the bird fed the forehead would often become covered in pollen, making the forehead appear pale. The species fed in flowers of lobelias and ohi'a-lehua at lower levels than the Hawai'i Mamo. The bird was apparently curious and would approach observers. Its call was a clear flute-like whistle and a five or six note rollicking whistle.

The Black Mamo was endemic to Moloka'i and was last observed in 1907 by a collector, one Alanson Bryan, who had shot three birds. Tim Flannery quoted him as having wrote, "To my joy I found the mangled remains hanging in the tree in a thick bunch of leaves, six feet or more beyond where it had been sitting."

Translation

The word "Mamo" occurs as such in the following languages: English, Portuguese.

Translation(s) in other languages: Spanish: Drepanis, Russian: Цветочницы-мамо, Finnish: Mamot.