The Apapane on Kauai

Here's a the only decent shot I managed of an Apapane in Kauai's Koke'e State Park this week. They are a super hyper member of the endemic drepanidinae subfamily of finches, flitting from one flower to the next, eating the nectar. Their primary food source is the Ohi'a Lehua, an endemic tree in the myrtle family found in the highlands.

In this area we also saw Anianiau (tiny and bright yellow) and Kauai Amakihi (a bit larger, a bit more olive, and with a stronger bill), both members of the same subfamily. The other endemic passerine seen here was the Kauai Elepaio, a member of the monarch-flycatcher family.