Rediscovering the ‘Hulimaia’ (Moho angustipluma): an extinct bird from the rainforests of Hawai‘i

Have you ever heard of the Kioea (Moho angustipluma)? According to early American naturalists, the native people of Hawai‘i hadn’t either. Endemic to Hawai‘i Island, Moho angustipluma (formerly in the genus Chaetoptila) is a species of Hawaiian ‘honeyeater’ that went extinct by the 1860s, and until recently, has been widely recognized by the native name “Kioea.” The assumed name of this tropical bird has persisted in literature since the late nineteenth century with little information available to contest it. However, new research by Matthew R. Halley, Ph.D., Research Director and Curator of Birds at the Delaware Museum of Nature and Science, sheds new light on this mysterious species. In a new paper in Pacific Science (University of Hawaii Press), Halley proposes that its true native name has been obscured by time: “Hulimaia.”

Titian Ramsay Peale’s (1849) original description of M. angustipluma stated that this bird “frequent[ed] the woody districts … generally found about those trees which are in flower.” This implies that the bird inhabited forested areas on Hawai‘i Island and relied on nectar as its primary food source. Specimens of M. angustipluma reach lengths of 320 to 345 mm, which makes this species the largest known nectivorous passerine (perching) bird species on Hawai‘I, so the name Kioea (standing tall) would seem to be a fitting description—but see below.

Its brown plumage, streaked with white, did not possess the typical black and yellow colors typical of Moho species, although recent genetic evidence suggests that it is correctly placed in that genus (Zhao et al. 2026). Moreover, although native Hawaiians frequently used native bird feathers in cultural materials and artifacts, especially those of the Hawai‘i ‘Ō‘ō (Moho nobilis)and Hawai‘i Mamo (Drepanis pacifica)—both also extinct—the feathers of M. angustipluma are evidently absent from documented Hawaiian feather work. The species is also not represented in native Hawaiian literature, cultural practices, or bird taxonomies.

In literary accounts, scholars concluded that the native Hawaiians, who failed to recognize the name “Kioea” when asked, knew nothing about this native species. However, Halley has proposed that traditional knowledge of M. angustipluma was a casualty of colonization—like the species itself, which went extinct within a century after European contact. Furthermore, he suggests that the reason that locals on Hawai‘i Island were not familiar with the name “Kioea,” was simply that it was not the bird’s true native name.

Halley’s research paper, “Forgotten Knowledge of the Extinct Hawaiian ‘Hulimaia’ (Mohoidae),” uncovers overlooked primary sources which address these misconceptions. Having studied the Peale family for many years, Halley had long puzzled over the history of M. angustipluma. It was not until he was introduced to the writings of Zepherin “Kepelino” Kahō’āli’i Teauotalani, a native Hawaiian scholar, through the scholarship Gomes (2020), that he broke new ground. Teauotalani lived on Hawai‘i during the period when M. angustipluma is believed to have gone extinct, and Halley argues that his account of the “Hulimaia, the Bird of the Mountain Banana Groves” is likely an overlooked native description of the species, which contains otherwise unknown information about its behavior and ecology.

Teauotalani (1859) described the “Hulimaia” in an essay titled “Huli-Toa Manu Havaii” (A description of Hawaiian birds), which appeared in a local Hawaiian-language newspaper. The name used by Teauotalani is onomatopoeic—i.e., the name imitates the sound of the bird’s vocalizations—as he stated when “[the bird] cries, it says ‘hulinm-mmaiah, hulinm-mmaiah’ therefore, as ‘hulinm-mmaiah is its cry, it is named hulimaia.” According to Halley, no extant Hawaiian species possesses the combination of large body size, brown plumage, and nectivorous feeding habits described by Teauotalani (1859). However, these features are a good match for the morphology and presumed behavior of the extinct M. angustipluma.

Further research showed that the name “Kioea” was simply an error, which had been introduced to literature by Sanford Dole, a non-native Hawaiian scholar, in 1879. The name simply became entrenched in literature after decades of uncritical repetition. Ultimately, this led Halley to the conclusion that “Hulimaia” (Teauotalani 1859) was the true native name of M. angustipluma.

In a world where science has historically favored Western (print) literature over the oral transfer of knowledge, to rediscover and restore even a small piece of indigenous knowledge—and a forgotten native name—is a massive success. However, Halley’s hope for the future is a simple one. He hopes that the Hulimaia—despite its tragic extinction—will come to be seen as a symbol of cultural restoration.

“Knowledge is something that predates the printing press,” Halley says, “Knowledge is something that ultimately comes from experience, and the native people of Hawai‘i have a great deal of that.”

Furthermore, he says that by recognizing the name “Hulimaia,” and speaking it aloud in the forests of Hawai‘i, we can help to preserve the cultural memory of a lost species. This will serve as a much-needed reminder, that we cannot take the native birds that still exist for granted.

Literature cited

Gomes, N. J. 2020. Reclaiming native Hawaiian knowledge represented in bird taxonomies. Ethnobiol. Lett. 11: 30–43.

Halley, M. R. 2026. Forgotten knowledge of the extinct Hawaiian ‘Hulimaia’ (Mohoidae). Pacific Science 80: 141–156.

Peale, T. R. 1849. United States Exploring Expedition . . . Volume 8. Mammalia and ornithology. C. Sherman, Philadelphia.

Rothschild, W. 1900. The avifauna of Laysan and the neighboring islands; with a complete history to date of the birds of the Hawaiian possessions. Part III. R. H. Porter, London.

Teauotalani, Z. 1859. Hoiliili Havaii: He Mau Hana, Olelo, Manao, E Pili Ana I To Havaii Nei, Pepa 3: He Vahi Huli-Toa Manu Havaii. Pai-Palapala Katolika.

Zhao, M., Kimball, R. T., & Braun, E. L. 2026. The phylogenetic position of the extinct Hawaiian honeyeaters: overcoming the limitations of antique DNA. Zoological Scripta 55: 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1111/zsc.70047.

Article by

Meghan Caughron

My name is Meghan Caughron, and I’m a Scientific Communications Intern at the Delaware Museum of Nature and Science, funded through the Delaware INBRE. I attend the University of Delaware, where I major in English and minor in Landscape Horticulture and Insect and Wildlife Conservation. In my current role, I aspire to share the untold stories of our collections and shine a metaphorical spotlight on all of the amazing individuals that help to make DelMNS a success.