Meet Kauaʻi ʻōʻō, a now-extinct species of bird, endemic to the island of Kaua’i in Hawaii. The last individual ever was a male, and he was recorded singing a mating call, to a female that would never come. He died in 1987.

Kauaʻi ʻōʻō

The Kauaʻi ʻōʻō or ʻōʻōʻāʻā (Moho braccatus) was a member of the extinct genus of the ʻōʻōs (Moho) within the extinct family Mohoidae from the islands of Hawai’i. It was previously regarded as member of the Australo-Pacific honeyeaters (family Meliphagidae). This bird was endemic to the island of Kauaʻi. It was common in the subtropical forests of the island until the early twentieth century, when its decline began. Its song was last heard in 1987, and it is now extinct. The causes of its extinction include the introduction of the Polynesian rat, the domestic pig, and mosquitoes, as well as habitat destruction.

Etymology

The native Hawaiians named the bird ʻōʻō ʻāʻā, from the Hawaiian word ʻōʻō, an onomatopoeic descriptor from the s… Continue Reading (3 minute read)