SECOND WATCH 10 P. M. COMPLINE
HAWAIIAN OAHU O-O – 1837 – Moho apicalis
Captain James Cook – 1779
The Third Voyage of Captain James Cook
, Hawaii
The islanders have another dress appropriated to their Chiefs, and used on ceremonious occasions, consisting of a yellow feathered cloak and helmet, which, in point of beauty and magnificence, is perhaps nearly equal to that of any nation in the world. These feathered cloaks are made of different lengths, in proportion to the rank of the wearer, some of them reaching no lower than the middle, others trailing on the ground. The inferior Chiefs have also a short cloak, resembling the former, made of the long tail-feathers of the cock, the tropic and man of war birds, with a border of the small red and yellow feathers, and a collar of the same. Others again are made of feathers entirely white, with variegated borders. These feathered dresses seem to be exceedingly scarce, appropriated to persons of the highest rank, and worn by the men only.
Lt. James King of the HMS Discovery later added to this account with a passage describing Cook’s welcome by the Hawaiians in Kealakekua Bay on 26 January 1779: “The next day, about noon, the king, in a large canoe, attended by two others, set out from the village in great state. Their appearance was grand and magnificent. In the first canoe was Terreeoboo and his chiefs, dressed in their richest feathered cloaks and helmets, and armed with long spears, and daggers; in the second, came the venerable Kaoo, the chief of the priests, and his brethren, with their idols displayed on red cloth. These idols were busts of gigantic size, made of wicker-work, and curiously covered in the small feathers of various colours, wrought in the same manner with their cloaks. Their eyes were of large pearl oysters… . As soon as I saw them approaching, I ordered out our little guard to receive the king; and Captain Cook… arrived nearly at the same time… when the king rose up, and in a very graceful manner threw over the Captain’s shoulders the cloak he himself wore, put a feathered helmet upon his head, and a curious fan in his hand. He also spread at his feet five or six other cloaks, all exceedingly beautiful, and of the greatest value.”
The magnificent feathered cloaks and helmets that were presented to Captain Cook were eventually brought to Britain and are still held as part of the British Museum’s collection. And as Captain Cook himself recorded: “A more rich and elegant Dress than this perhaps the Arts of Europe have not yet been able to supply.”
MOLOKAI O-O – 1904 – Moho bishopi
Captain George Vancouver – 1794
‘The Discovery’ Journal of Captain George Vancouver,
Hawaii
King Kamehameha was garbed in a striking yellow cloak made principally of bright yellow feathers which reached from his shoulders to the bottom of the canoe. On his head he wore a very handsome feathered helmet, and made altogether a magnificent appearance.
The cloak of King Kamehameha described by Captain George Vancouver was constructed over a period of eight generations of kings, and was believed to have been made from the plumes of over 80,000 birds. The thousands of golden plumes that made up these royal cloaks were taken almost entirely from the four O-O species (Moho apicalis, M. bishopi, M. nobilis, M. braccata) and the single Mamo species (Drepanis pacifica) – all of which are now extinct. This cloak was the feathered equivalent of the crown jewels of the Hawaiian kings. However, it doesn’t appear as if this was the ultimate cause of their extinction, as it was forbidden for commoners to hunt these birds or possess their feathers except on behalf of the royal family. Also according to some accounts, many of these birds were captured and stripped of their gold plumes rather than killed.
Goats, sheep and cattle put ashore by Captain Cook and Captain Vancouver between 1778 and 1794 caused extensive damage to native forests. Subsequently, much forest has been cut down by Europeans in order to plant sugar, pineapples and coffee. Imported rats, cats and mongoose took a terrible toll on native birds, while imported domestic pigeons resulted in a plague of avian malaria that exterminated all Honeycreepers and Honeyeaters below 4,000 feet in altitude – which is the range of its deadly imported carrier, the Night Mosquito.
Nor were the islands’ birds the only victims of the European invasions that followed Captain Cook. The native Polynesian population at the time of Cook’s visit was estimated between 400,000 and 800,000. By 1900, the native population was 40,000, and by 1950 it was less than 10,000, or a decrease of 98% of their original population, and only 2% of the Hawaiian non-native population of 500,000. By 2010 it had increased to 250,000 or nearly 20% of Hawaii’s 1¼ million population.
HAWAII O-O – 1934 – Moho nobilis
Coenraad Jacob Temminck – 1838
Manuel D’Ornithology,
Leiden, Holland
The most striking characteristic of Moho noblis is a tuft of beautiful long silky feathers decorating each flank; the bright yellow colour of this waving plume makes a pleasing contrast to the otherwise dark colouring of its plumage. These are the feathers Sandwich Islanders use to make their cloaks. The English traveller Dixon tells us they catch these birds with ease, pull out bunches of feathers on the flanks, and then let the birds go.
The first O-O Honeyeater to become extinct was the Oahu O-O (Moho aplicalis) in 1837. This was undoubtedly because Oahu was the most densely populated island and the location of the port of Honolulu. The second extinction was the related but non-Moho species, the Kioea (Chaetoptila angustipluma) in 1850; and the third was the Molokai O-O (Moho bishopi) in 1904. The Hawaiian O-O (Moho noblis) was the most numerous species of Hawaiian Islands Honeyeaters because its habitat on the Big Island of Hawaii was the most extensive. Because of this, it was nearly the last of the Honeyeaters to become extinct, in 1934. The only exception was a tiny population of Kuaia O-O (Moho braccata) which miraculously survived until 1987 in an isolated patch of forest in a high-altitude volcanic cone within the island. This was above the range of the Night Mosquito and, as the site of the world’s highest recorded rainfall, of little interest to feral cats.
In 2008 DNA analysis revealed that Hawaiian Honeyeaters did not evolve from Australasian Honeyeaters (Meliphagidae), and that they belonged to the entirely distinct family of Mohoidae, consisting of two genera and five species. This is the only known extinction of an entire avian family in historic times.
KAUAI O-O – 1987 – Moho braccata
J. C. Greenway – 1967
Extinct and Vanishing Birds of the World
, New York
Five forms of the Honeyeater family – known as the O-O – were once to be found on as many of the Hawaiian Islands. These were all strikingly beautiful, either brown or jet black, with metallic reflections and with bright yellow ornamental plumes. All of these are now extinct. Because the natives captured them for their yellow plumes it has often been said that they were extirpated by the Hawaiians, but it is not probable that this was the cause of their disappearance. As in the case of the extinction of twenty forms of the Hawaiian Honeycreepers, it is probable that destruction of the native forests is the primary cause.
Honeycreepers were the youngest of all bird families and among the most beautiful and varied. All descended from one ancestor species that a century ago had evolved into 9 genera, twenty-two species and sixty-four subspecies. All measured from 10 to 21 cm and were brilliantly coloured with specialized beak forms for feeding on flowering trees.
Ninety-seven percent of all Hawaiian plant and tree species are endemic and unique to the islands. By 1950, three quarters of the natural forests were lost to cultivation, cattle browsing or fire. Over 270 plant species, subspecies and varieties are known to be extinct and 800 more are endangered. In fact, an astonishing sixty percent of the 68 known forms of native land birds are probably extinct.
As noted, all five endemic Hawaiian Honeyeaters are now extinct; and forty percent of all endemic Hawaiian Honeycreepers are also gone. These include: the Mamo (Drepanis pacifica), Black Mamo (Drepanis funereal), Ula-Ai-Hawane (Ciridops anna), Laysan Apapane (Himatione sanguinea freethi), Great Amakihi (Loxops sagittiriostris), Molokai Alauwahio (Loxops maculata flammea), Lanai Alauwahio (Loxops maculate montana), Oahu Akepa (Loxops coccinea rufa) Hawaiian Akiola (Hemingnathus obscurus obscurus), Lanai Akiola (Hemingnathus obscurus lanaiesis), Oahu Akiola (Hemingnathus obscurus ellisianus), Kauai Akiola (Hemingnathus obscurus procerus), Oahu Nukupuu (Hemingnathus lucidus lucidus), Kauai Nukupuu (Hemingnathus lucidus hanapepe), Maui Nukupuu (Hemingnathus lucidus affinis), Greater Koa Finch (Psittirostra palmeri), Lesser Koa Finch (Psittirostra flaviceps), and Kona Finch (Psittirostra kona).
THE ANCESTORS
Hawaiian Oahu O-O – 1837
The Ancestors prepare to sail
They raise the mast of the outrigger
And pray to Kanaloa
For a calm sea and swift passage
As a fair wind rises, the Ancestors
Depart for the isle of the Feathered Gods
Where still the lush Koa forests bloom
And the winged jewel-and-gem birds
Sing to the glory of flowering trees
Where fly the O-O and the Mamo
Whose whirring wings are fashioned
Of glittering gold and the sheen of jet
Where they feed on the honey flower
With the emerald Amakihi
And the ruby bright Alauwahio
And others with plumes the colour
Of citrine, tourmaline, amethyst and pearl
Flit through forests heavy with flower and fruit
Filled with bird song and sunlight