Myadestes lanaiensis rutha Bryan, 1908

Hawaiian thrush, Oloma'o, Molokaʻi thrush, Moloka'i oloma'o

 

 

Taxonomy & Nomenclature

Synonym/s: Phaeornis obscurus lanaiensis Bryan, 1908; Myadestes undescribed species aff. lanaiensis (Tyrberg, 2009:96)

 

Conservation Status

Missing (NatureServe, 2026)

Last record (disputed): 1980 (Wakelee & Fancy, 1999; Pyle & Pyle, 2017; Kittelberger et al., 2024; NatureServe, 2026); 1988 (USFWS, 1990; BirdLife International, 2019 [as unconfirmed]); 1994 (BirdLife International, 2019 [as unconfirmed]; Martin et al., 2023 [by implication]); 2005 (unconfirmed) (BirdLife International, 2019)

IUCN RedList status: Critically Endangered (Possibly Extinct)

 

Distribution & Habitat

Moloka'i and Maui, Hawaiian Islands, USA

 

Biology & Ecology

 

 

Hypodigm

 

 

Media

 

 

References

Original scientific description:

(Bryan) 1908 Occ.Pap.BishopMus. 4 no.2 p.171 / 81


Other references:

American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1985. Thirty-fifth Supplement to the American Ornithologists' Union Check-list of North American Birds. Auk 102:680-686.

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

BirdLife International. (2012). Myadestes lanaiensis. In: IUCN 2013. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.1. (http://www.iucnredlist.org). Downloaded on 25 August 2013.

BirdLife International. (2019). Myadestes lanaiensis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019: e.T22708574A155254449. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T22708574A155254449.en. Accessed on 01 October 2026.

Butchart, Stuart H. M., Lowe, Stephen, Martin, Rob W., Symes, Andy, Westrip, James R. S. and Wheatley, Hannah. (2018a). Which bird species have gone extinct? A novel quantitative classification approach. Biological Conservation 227: 9-18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2018.08.014

Butchart, Stuart H. M., Stattersfield, A. J. and Brooks, T. M. (2006). Going or gone: defining ‘Possibly Extinct’ species to give a truer picture of recent extinctions. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club 126A: 7-24.

Butchart, Stuart H. M., Wheatley, Hannah, Lowe, Stephen, Westrip, James R. S., Symes, Andy and Martin, Rob W. (2018b). Data for: Which bird species have gone extinct? A novel quantitative classification approach. Mendeley Data, V1, doi: 10.17632/vvjhpmyxb4.1

Day, David. (1981). The Doomsday Book of Animals: A Natural History of Vanished Species. New York, N.Y.: The Viking Press.

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.

Dickinson, E.C. (Editor). 2003. The Howard and Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World. 3rd edition. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ. 1039 pp.

Ehrlich, P. R., D. S. Dobkin, and D. Wheye. 1992. Birds in Jeopardy: the Imperiled and Extinct Birds of the United States and Canada, Including Hawaii and Puerto Rico. Stanford University Press, Stanford, California. 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.

Fisher, Diana O. and Humphreys, Aelys M. (2024). Evidence for modern extinction in plants and animals. Biological Conservation 298: 110772. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110772

Greenwald, Noah, Suckling, Kieran F., Hartl, Brett and Mehrhoff, L. A. (2019). Extinction and the U.S. Endangered Species Act. PeerJ 7: e6803 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.6803 [Supplemental Information (Extinct or possibly extinct listed species)]

James, Helen F. and Olson, Storrs L. (1991). Descriptions of thirty-two new species of birds from the Hawaiian Islands: Part II. Passeriformes. Ornithological Monographs 46: 1-88.

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. [p. 203]

Martin, Thomas E., Bennett, Gareth C., Fairbairn, Andrew J. and Mooers, A. Ø. (2023). ‘Lost’ taxa and their conservation implications. Animal Conservation 26(1): 14-24. https://doi.org/10.1111/acv.12788 [Appendix S2 (1617 taxa not seen >10 years); Appendix S3 (562 taxa not seen >50 years)]

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.

NatureServe. (2026). Myadestes lanaiensis rutha: Molokai Thrush. NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data accessed through NatureServe Explorer [web application]. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia. Available at: https://explorer.natureserve.org/ [Accessed on 1 October 2026]

Pratt, H. D. 1982. Relationships and speciation of the Hawaiian thrushes. The Living Bird 19:73-90.

Pratt, H. D., P. L. Bruner, and D. G. Berrett. 1987. A Field Guide to the Birds of Hawaii and the Tropical Pacific. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey. 409 pp. + 45 plates.

Reynolds, M.H., and T.J. Snetsinger. 2001. The Hawai‘I Rare Bird Search 1994—1996. Studies in Avian Biology 22: 133-143.

Roberts, D. L. and Jarić, I. (2016). Inferring extinction in North American and Hawaiian birds in the presence of sighting uncertainty. PeerJ 4: e2426.

Scott, J. M., and C. B. Kepler. 1985. Distribution and abundance of Hawaiian native birds: a status report. Pages 43-70 in Temple, S. A. (editor). Bird Conservation 2. University of Wisconsin Press, Madison, Wisconsin. 181 pp.

Scott, J. M., C. B. Kepler, C. van Riper, and S. I. Fefer. 1988. Conservation of Hawaii's vanishing avifauna. BioScience 38:238-253. Scott, J. M., et al. 1988. Conservation of Hawaii's vanishing avifauna. BioScience 38:238-253.

Scott, J.M., S. Mountainspring, F.L. Ramsey and C.B. Kepler. 1986. Forest bird communities of the Hawaiian Islands: their dynamics, ecology and conservation. Studies in Avian Biology No. 9. Cooper Ornithological Soc. Allen Press, Lawrence, Kansas.

Scott JM, Ramsey FL, Lammertink M, Rosenberg KV, Rohrbaugh R, Wiens JA, Reed JM. 2008. When is an “extinct” species really extinct? Gauging the search efforts for Hawaiian forest birds and the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. Avian Conservation and Ecology 3(2): 3.

Suckling, Kieran, Slack, Rhiwena and Nowicki, Brian. (2004). Extinct and the Endangered Species Act. Centre For Biological Diversity. 63 pp.

Tyrberg, Tommy. (2009). Holocene avian extinctions, pp. 63-106. In: Turvey, Samuel T. (ed.). Holocene Extinctions. Oxford, UK & New York, USA: Oxford University Press. xii + 352 pp.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). 1970. Appendix D - United States List of Endangered Native Fish and Wildlife. Federal Register 35: 16047-16048.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). 1990. Endangered and threatened species recovery program: report to Congress. 406 pp.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. (2018). 5-Year Review: Short Form Summary, Olomao or Molokai Thrush (Myadestes lanaiensis rutha). https://ecos.fws.gov/docs/five_year_review/doc5760.pdf

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). 2023. Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Technical Corrections for 62 Wildlife and Plant Species on the Lists of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants. Federal Register 88(22):7134-7177.

Wakelee, K. M.; Fancy, S. G. (1999). Oma'o (Myadestes obscurus), Kama'o (Myadestes myadestinus), Oloma'o (Myadestes lanaiensis) and 'Amaui (Myadestes woahensis). In: Poole, A.; Gill, F. (ed.), The birds of North America, No. 460, pp. 1-28. The Academy of Naural Sciences and The American Ornithologists' Union, Philadelphia and Washington, DC.

 

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