ʻAkohekohe ʻAkohekohe The akohekohe (Palmeria dolei) or crested honeycreeper is a species of Hawaiian honeycreeper. It is endemic to the island of Maui in Hawaii. Its natural habitat is wet forests dominated by "koa" ("Acacia koa") and "ōhia lehua" ("Metrosideros polymorpha") on the windward side of Haleakalā at elevations of . It is the largest honeycreeper on the island at in length. The adults are a glossy black with whitish feathers and stripes going down its side. The underparts are whitish black while the top has orange feathers sticking from wings. The feathers behind the eyes are a reddish color, and
Mauna Kea State Recreation Area. A band of ranch land on Mauna Kea's lower slopes was formerly "Acacia koa" – "Metrosideros polymorpha" (koa-ōhia) forest. Its destruction was driven by an influx of European and American settlers in the early 19th century, as extensive logging during the 1830s provided lumber for new homes. Vast swathes of the forest were burned and cleared for sugarcane plantations. Most of the houses on the island were built of koa, and those parts of the forest that survived became a source for firewood to power boilers on the sugarcane plantations and to heat homes. The once vast