{{Short description|Genus of birds}} {{for|the journal published by the Hawaii Audubon Society|‘Elepaio (journal)}} {{Automatic Taxobox | name = {{okina}}Elepaio | image = Chasiempis sandwichensis ridgwayi.jpg | image_caption = Female volcano {{okina}}elepaio<br/>''Chasiempis sandwichensis ridgwayi'' | taxon = Chasiempis | authority = Cabanis, 1847 | type_species = ''Muscicapa sandwichensis''<ref name=HM4>{{cite web |url= https://www.aviansystematics.org/4th-edition-checklist?viewfamilies=150 |title= Monarchidae |author=<!--Not stated--> |date= |website= aviansystematics.org |publisher= The Trust for Avian Systematics |access-date= 2023-07-16}}</ref> | type_species_authority = Gmelin, 1789 | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = * ''C. sclateri'' * ''C. ibidis'' * ''C. sandwichensis'' }} [[File:ChasiempisSandwichensisSmit.jpg|thumb|Illustration by Joseph Smit]] The '''{{okina}}elepaio''' are three species of monarch flycatcher in the genus ''Chasiempis''. They are endemic to the Hawaiian Islands, and were formerly considered conspecific. They measure 14&nbsp;cm long and weigh 12–18&nbsp;g. One species inhabits the Big Island, another O{{okina}}ahu and the third Kaua{{okina}}i. Being one of the most adaptable native birds of Hawai{{okina}}i, no subspecies have yet become extinct, though two have become quite rare.

The {{okina}}elepaio is the first native bird to sing in the morning and the last to stop singing at night; apart from whistled and chattering contact and alarm calls, it is probably best known for its song, from which derives the common name: a pleasant and rather loud warble which sounds like ''e-le-PAI-o'' or ''ele-PAI-o''. It nests between January and June.

==Species== The genus ''Chasiempis'' contains three species:<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/monarchs/|title=Monarchs « IOC World Bird List|website=www.worldbirdnames.org|access-date=2017-01-01}}</ref> {| class="wikitable" |- ! Image !! Scientific name!! Common name !! Distribution |- |120px|| ''Chasiempis sclateri'' ||Kaua{{okina}}i {{okina}}elepaio || Hawaiian Island of Kaua{{okina}}i |- |120px|| ''Chasiempis ibidis'' ||O{{okina}}ahu {{okina}}elepaio ||Hawaiian Island of O{{okina}}ahu. |- |120px|| ''Chasiempis sandwichensis''||Hawai{{okina}}i {{okina}}elepaio ||Hawaiian Island of Hawai{{okina}}i. |- |}

==Distribution== [[File:Elepaio colonization of Hawaiian archipelago.png|right|thumb|The sequential colonization and speciation of the ''Chasiempis sandwichensis'' subspecies (denoted by the orange arrows) with their divergence times and island geological ages.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Stepping stone speciation in Hawaii's flycatchers: molecular divergence supports new island endemics within the elepaio |author1=Eric A. VanderWerf |author2=Lindsay C. Young |author3=Norine W. Yeung |author4=David B. Carlon |journal=Conservation Genetics |year=2010 |volume=11 |issue=4 |pages=1283–1298 |doi=10.1007/s10592-009-9958-1 |bibcode=2010ConG...11.1283V |s2cid=35883704 }}</ref>]] Uniquely among Hawaiian passerines, the distribution of the {{okina}}elepaio is peculiarly discontinuous. According to fossil remains, the birds did not occur on Maui Nui or its successor islands. Their current distribution is absent from the Maui Nui island group. If this assumption is correct, the reasons are unknown at present. However, the strange "flycatcher finches", extinct honeycreepers of the genus ''Vangulifer'', are only known to have inhabited Maui and probably evolved on Maui Nui.<ref name=James/> There, they probably filled the same ecological niche as the {{okina}}elepaio did on the other islands. Competition from ''Vangulifer'' may thus have prevented a successful colonization of Maui Nui by ''Chasiempis''.

==Cultural significance== In Hawaiian tradition, the {{okina}}elepaio was among the most celebrated of the birds.<ref name=Kanahele/><ref name=Soehren/> It is associated with a number of significant roles in culture and mythology. Chiefly, it helped ''kālai wa{{okina}}a'' (canoe-builders) to select the right ''koa'' tree to use for their ''wa{{okina}}a'' (canoe). The {{okina}}elepaio is a bold and curious little bird, and thus it was attracted to humans whom it found working in its habitat, and it quickly learned to exploit feeding opportunities created by human activity, altering its behavior accordingly<ref name=VanderWerf1994/> – which incidentally made it even more conspicuous.

For example, it followed canoe builders through dense vegetation, watching them as they searched for suitable trees. They considered it their guardian spirit, an incarnation of their patron goddess Lea, because if the bird pecked at a fallen tree, it was a sign that the tree was riddled with burrowing insects and thus not good anymore, but when the bird showed no interest in a tree, it indicated that the wood was suitable. This is the origin of the ancient Hawaiian proverb, ''Ua {{okina}}elepaio {{okina}}ia ka wa{{okina}}a'' ("The canoe is marked out by the {{okina}}elepaio"). Due to its insectivorous habit, farmers believed the {{okina}}elepaio to be the incarnation of Lea's sister goddess, Hina-puku-{{okina}}ai, who protected food plants and was a patron of agriculture.

==Status== Although deforestation for agriculture destroyed large areas of habitat, the {{okina}}elepaio managed to adapt well to the initial settlement. Thus, its population was large enough to withstand the additional pressures that came about with Western colonization of the islands. However, the O{{okina}}ahu species has declined precipitously in recent years and is now endangered.

==References==<!-- Auk117:847. JFieldOrnithol74:406 --> {{Reflist|refs= <ref name=Kanahele>Kanahele, George S. (1996): ''Waikiki 100 B.C. to 1900 A.D.'' Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, p. 29, {{ISBN|0824817907}}.</ref> <ref name=James>{{cite journal|author1=James, Helen F.|author2=Olson, Storrs L.|author-link2 = Storrs Olson|year=1991|title= Descriptions of Thirty-Two New Species of Birds from the Hawaiian Islands: Part II. Passeriformes |journal=Ornithological Monographs |volume=46 |issue=46 |url=http://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/om/om046.pdf | doi = 10.2307/40166713|pages=1–88|jstor=40166713 }}</ref> <ref name=Soehren>Soehren, Rick (1996): ''The Birdwatcher's Guide to Hawai{{okina}}i.'' Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, p. 1, {{ISBN|0824816838}}.</ref> <ref name=VanderWerf1994>{{cite journal|author=VanderWerf, Eric A. |year=1994|title= Intraspecific variation in foraging behavior of Elepaio in Hawaiian forests of different structure|journal=Auk|volume=111 |issue=4 |pages= 917–932 |url=http://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/auk/v111n04/p0917-p0932.pdf |doi=10.2307/4088824|jstor=4088824 }}</ref> }}

==Further reading== * {{cite journal|author=VanderWerf, Eric A. |year=2001 |title=Two-Year Delay in Plumage Maturation of Male and Female {{okina}}Elepaio |journal=Condor |doi=10.1650/0010-5422(2001)103[0756:tydipm]2.0.co;2 |volume=103 |issue=4 |pages=756|s2cid=55301910 |doi-access=free }} *[http://audubon2.org/webapp/watchlist/viewSpecies.jsp?id=74 {{okina}}Elepaio on the Audubon watch list]. Contains a photo of ''sclateri'', which shows the distinctness of that taxon well. *[http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/Elepaio?action=SpcHTMDetails.asp&sid=6075&m=0 {{okina}}Elepaios] - BirdLife International

{{Monarchidae|2}} {{Corvides|Co.|state=collapsed}} {{Taxonbar|from=Q1034535}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elepaio}} Category:Hawaiiana Category:Hawaiian mythology Category:Monarchidae Category:Endemic birds of Hawaii Category:Taxa named by Jean Cabanis Category:Chasiempis