Lehua Mamo - ʻIʻiwi

ʻIʻiwi ( Drepanis coccinea, Vestiaria coccinea) - amongst Lehua Mamo ('Ohi'a) - yellow variation of 'Ohi'a. The ʻIʻiwi is endemic to Hawai'i and currently only found on Hawai'i island, Maui, and Kaua'i. Their striking reddish-orange color was valued in Hawaiian culture. They would gather their feathers by gently plucking feathers after trapping them with sticky sap (their feet would be stuck to branches of a tree), and then would release them back into the wild. Feathers from the ʻIʻiwi and other colorful native birds were used for helmets and capes that Hawaiian nobility would wear. The ʻIʻiwi's very curved bright yellow-orange beak also makes it one of our more well known native hawaiian manu (birds). The ʻIʻiwi is an endangered species with population numbers decreasing annually most notably due to avian malaria. This particular species is very susceptible and sometimes just one bite from an infected mosquito can do it for them. KEYWORDS: painting, watercolor, nature, birds, hawaiiana, native bird, hawaiian honeycreeper

Materials: Watercolor and graphite