ʻākepa

The Hawai’i ʻākepa is endemic to the island of Hawai’i and a member of the Hawaiian Honeycreeper family. There used to be other ʻ ākepa on Maui and O’ahu, but these subspecies are presumed extinct. The males of the species have a very vibrant orange color while the females tend to have a greyer green coloring with a band around their middles. The ʻ ākepa males and females have a lilt-y almost melancholy song. The ʻ ākepa received its cultural name due to its foraging skills which translates to “quick, nimble, and active.” They are also considered to be spiritual guides to the Hawaiian people and their feathers were used to make several traditional types of clothing.