First Impressions of Hawaiian Birds 123 ings and along the roads, lives the Amakihi, a small greenish bird which finds its insect food among the foliage. It has a characteristic upward tilt to the tail, somewhat like our Titlark. The Amakihi, too, is fond of nectar by way of dessert, and in many ways it is a very interesting species. I must pass it by with the statement that of all Hawaiian birds the Amakihi, in habits and motions, most nearly resembles our Wood Warblers. Oddly enough, its song is a faint, simple trill, which recalls the song of our Pine Warbler. Go where you will in the Hawaiian woods, if one of these little birds is not visible, one has but to squeak a few tiroes, when a pair appear with answering notes, full of curiosity as to the nature of your business. The ieie vine has a spike of nutritious seeds, which form the chief food of the Ou, the thick bill of which, developed, no doubt, chiefly for the purpose of extracting these same seeds, together with its yellow head and green plumage, always inspires the stranger with the idea that the bird belongs to the Parrot family. In fact, Latham, its first his- torian, called it the Parrot-billed Grosbeak! The trim, finch -like shape of the Ou, and its beautiful plumage, are enough to inspire regard in the breast of any bird observer, but the Ou possesses an even stronger claim to affection, for it is the most beautiful songster of the Hawaiian forest. The song is unmistakably fringilline in character, and so much resembles the Canary's, that it is the generally received opinion among the settlers that the forest is full of escaped cage -birds ; yet in purity, sweetness and power the song of the Ou far surpasses the Canary's best efforts. Unfortunately the Ou, as a rule, is not very generous with its song, and too often the listener has to be content with snatches of melody in place of the finished performance. Yet I remember on one occasion to have heard more than a dozen males singing in a small patch of woods for at least an hour, and the chorus was worth going far to listen to. The Ou has a soft, plaintive call, much like a Cjoldfinch 's, which can be imitated so closely as to always elicit a response if an Ou is within hearing. More than once I have called down a passing party from mid -air to a perch in low trees. Often, too, when c]uietl' resting in the forest, I have sent forth the soft call-note of the Ou at a venture, to be instantly answered, and to find myself in the midst of a part of these birds which, unnoticed, had been quietly feeding in the trees overhead. While the frint of the ieie forms the chief fooil of the Ou, the bird is fond, also, of several kinds of berries, especiall- of mamaki berries, of bananas, and even of guavas. Such a varied fare leads to the belief that xh'> beautiful songster might be domesticated in the warmer portions of the I'nited States. It may be doubted, how- ever, if the bird would be wt'lcomed b tin- fruit-grower, as cherries,
