The Po'ouli was not discovered until 1973 by students from the University of Hawai'i, who found the bird on the north-eastern slopes of Haleakala on the island of Maui. It was found during the Hana Rainforest Project at an altitude of 1,980 metres (6,500 ft) above sea level. The Po'ouli was the first species of Hawaiian Honeycreeper to be discovered since 1923. It is dissimilar to other Hawaiian birds. Evidence based on DNA suggests it belongs to an ancient lineage of honeycreepers. It appears to have out-lived all its close relatives; that is if it had any close relatives. No other bird - living or fossil - has a structure similar to it. Read more
The Poouli or Black-faced Honeycreeper (Melamprosops phaeosoma) is a critically endangered and possibly extinct bird species that is endemic to Hawaii. On September 9, 2004, one of the remaining birds, a male, was captured and taken to the Maui Bird Conservation Centre in Olinda, in an attempt to captively breed the bird. However, biologists could not find a mate for the male before it died on November 26, 2004. Read more