Breeding Biology and Territoriality of the Hawaii Creeper

Abstract

The Hawaii Creeper (Oreomystis mana) is an endangered honeycreeper restricted to high-elevation forests on the island of Hawaii. I found eight Hawaii Creeper nests at Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge from 1991-1997. Three nests fledged one or two chicks each, one failed because of bad weather, and two were abandoned after kleptoparasitism of nest material by other bird species. Females did most nest construction and all incubation and brooding. Both sexes fed the nestlings by regurgitation, with the male making 57% of feedings. The male fed the female during incubation and brooding. At two nests construction took 11-15 days and the incubation period was 13 days. At one nest the clutch size was two and the nestling period was 18 days. Mean nest tree height and diameter were 21.7 ± 2.9 m and 54.9 ± 23.6 cm, respectively, and mean nest height was 12.0 ± 4.3 m. Four nests were in cavities and four were open. One pair built an open and a cavity nest in the same season. During the breeding season males defended a small type-B territory with a radius around the nest of 15-20 m. Home ranges were larger in the nonbreeding season (11.9 ± 7.7 ha) than in the breeding season (4.5 ± 0.2 ha) and overlapped extensively.