honeyeater

The Kauaioo was thought to be extinct, like the other three species of Hawaiian honeyeaters, but was rediscovered in 1960. It was saved by its relatively plain feathers; the other, more colourful, Hawaiian honeyeaters were hunted to extinction.

Any of a group of small, brightly coloured birds with long, curved beaks and long tails, native to Australia. They have a long tongue divided into four at the end to form a brush for collecting nectar from flowers. (Family Meliphagidae.)

Larger honeyeaters, such as the blue-faced honeyeater (Entomyza cyanotis) of northeastern Australia, which is 30 cm/12 in long, also eat insects and fruit. The blood-bird is a honeyeater.

Honeyeaters from Australasia colonized Hawaii, where four distinct species evolved of which only one, the Kauaioo, survives; it too was thought to be extinct but was rediscovered in 1960.