Moho braccatus Cassin, 1855

Kaua'i 'o'o, Kauai o-o, 'o'o'a'a

 

 

Taxonomy & Nomenclature

Synonym/s: Moho braccathus Cassin, 1855

 

Conservation Status

Extinct (NatureServe, 2026)

Last record: 1987 (Kittelberger et al., 2024; NatureServe, 2026)

IUCN RedList status: Extinct

 

One of numerous species rediscovered prior to it's second putative extinction (last record 1945-rediscovered 1960).

 

Distribution & Habitat

Kaua'i, Hawaiian Islands, USA

 

Biology & Ecology

 

 

Hypodigm

[url=http://nlbif.eti.uva.nl/naturalis/detail.php?lang=uk&id=25]RMNH 110.028[/url]

[url=http://nlbif.eti.uva.nl/naturalis/detail.php?lang=uk&id=25]RMNH 110.029[/url] (male)

 

 

Media

Sound recordings, video recordings and a photo are available on the Macaulay Library website: https://search.macaulaylibrary.org/catalog?taxonCode=kauoo

 

Above: photograph by Robert Shallenberger /USFWS. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

 

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References

Original scientific description:

Cassin, J. (1855). The 'o'o of Kauai. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 7: 440.

 

Other references:

American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1998. Check-list of North American birds. Seventh edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.

Anmarkrud, Jarl Andreas and Lifjeld, Jan T. (In Press, 2016). Complete mitochondrial genomes of eleven extinct or possibly extinct bird species. Molecular Ecology Resources. doi:10.1111/1755-0998.12600 [Abstract]

Anonymous. (1964). List of rare birds, including those thought to be so but of which detailed information is still lacking. IUCN Bulletin 10(Special Supplement): 4 pp.

Atkinson, I. A. E. 1977. A reassessment of factors, particularly RATTUS RATTUS (L.), that influenced the declineof endemic forest birds in the Hawaiian Islands. Pacific Science 31:109-133.

Berger, A. J. 1981. Hawaiian Birdlife. Second Edition. University Press of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii. xv + 260 pp.

Bezan, Sarah. (2022). The Species Revivalist Sublime: Encountering the Kaua'i 'Ō'ō Bird in Jakob Kudsk Steensen's Re-Animated, pp. 211-229. In: Bienvenue, Valérie and Chare, Nicholas (eds.). Animals, Plants and Afterimages: The Art and Science of Representing Extinction. Berghahn Books. xi + 448 pp.

BirdLife International. (2012). Moho braccatus. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. (http://www.iucnredlist.org). Downloaded on 23 May 2013.

BirdLife International. (2016). Moho braccatus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T22704323A93963628. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22704323A93963628.en. Accessed on 14 June 2022.

Brooks, T. (2000). Extinct species, pp. 701-708. In: BirdLife International (ed.), Threatened Birds of the World. Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, Barcelona and Cambridge, U.K.

Burney, David A. et al. (2001). Fossil evidence for a diverse biota from Kaua'i and its transformation since human arrival. Ecological Monographs 71(4): 615-641.

Collar, N. J.; Crosby, M. J.; Stattersfield, A. J. 1994. Birds to watch 2: the world list of threatened birds. BirdLife International, Cambridge, U.K.

Conant, S.; Pratt, H. D.; Shallenberger, R. J. (1998). Reflections on a 1975 expedition to the lost world of the Alaka'i and other notes on the natural history, systematics, and conservation of Kaua'i birds. Wilson Bulletin 110: 1-22.

del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A., Fishpool, L.D.C., Boesman, P. and Kirwan, G.M. 2016. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 2: Passerines. Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.

Ehrlich, Paul R., Dobkin, David S. and Wheye, Darryl. (1992). Birds in Jeopardy: The Imperiled and Extinct Birds of the United States and Canada, Including Hawaii and Puerto Rico. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. 259 pp.

Elphick, Chris S., Roberts, David L. and Reed, J. Michael. (2010). Estimated dates of recent extinctions for North American and Hawaiian birds. Biological Conservation 143: 617-624.

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Fleischer, Robert C., James, Helen F. and Olson, Storrs L. (2008). Convergent Evolution of Hawaiian and Australo-Pacific Honeyeaters from Distant Songbird Ancestors. Current Biology 18(24): 1927-1931.

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Kittelberger, Kyle D., Tanner, Colby J., Buxton, Amy N., Prewett, Amira and Şekercioğlu, Çağan Hakkı. (2024). Correlates of avian extinction timing around the world since 1500 CE. Avian Research 15: 100213. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avrs.2024.100213 [Supplementary data (List of 216 taxa)]

Knox, Alan G. and Walters, Michael P. (1994). Extinct and endangered birds in the collections of The Natural History Museum. British Ornithologists' Club Occasional Publications 1: 1-292. [pp. 230-231]

Lewis, Daniel. (Due May, 2018). Belonging on an Island: Birds, Extinction, and Evolution in Hawai`i. Yale University Press. 320 pp.

Matthews, J.R. and C.J. Moseley (eds.). 1990. The Official World Wildlife Fund Guide to Endangered Species of North America. Volume 1. Plants, Mammals. xxiii + pp 1-560 + 33 pp. appendix + 6 pp. glossary + 16 pp. index. Volume 2. Birds, Reptiles, Amphibians, Fishes, Mussels, Crustaceans, Snails, Insects, and Arachnids. xiii + pp. 561-1180. Beacham Publications, Inc., Washington, D.C.

Matthews, Thomas J., Triantis, Kostas A., Wayman, Joseph P., Martin, Thomas E., Hume, Julian P., Cardoso, Pedro, Faurby, Søren, Mendenhall, Chase D., Dufour, Paul, Rigal, François, Cooke, Rob, Whittaker, Robert J., Pigot, Alex L., Thébaud, Christophe, Jørgensen, Maria Wagner, Benavides, Eva, Soares, Filipa C., Ulrich, Werner, Kubota, Yasuhiro, Sadler, Jon P., Tobias, Joseph A. and Sayol, Ferran. (2024). The global loss of avian functional and phylogenetic diversity from anthropogenic extinctions. Science 386(6717): 55-60. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adk7898 [Supplementary Materials; Dryad dataset; Zenodo codeset]

Matthews, Thomas J., Wayman, Joseph P., Cardoso, Pedro, Sayol, Ferran, Hume, Julian P., Ulrich, Werner, Tobias, Joseph A., Soares, Filipa C., Thébaud, Christophe, Martin, Thomas E. and Triantis, Kostas A. (2022). Threatened and extinct island endemic birds of the world: Distribution, threats and functional diversity. Journal of Biogeography 49(11): 1920-1940. https://doi.org/10.1111/jbi.14474 [Appendix S1 (.docx); Appendix S2 (.pdf)]

NatureServe. (2026). Moho braccatus: Kauai 'o'o. NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data accessed through NatureServe Explorer [web application]. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia. Available at: https://explorer.natureserve.org/ [Accessed on 2 October 2026]

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http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S27677511

https://www.engadget.com/2018/05/25/kauai-oo-honeyeater-youtube-memorial-ghost-media/?guccounter=1

 

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