The yellow-eyed flower-mother [1] [2] ( Drepanis pacifica ) was about 23 cm long. Her plumage was glossy black with a yellow rump and small yellow spots on the wings. The tail was black. The beak was long, curved and black. The legs were dark gray or black.
It was a shy species that lived in gentle forests and fed on lobelia nectar, which had curved, tubular flowers . Their call was a long, mournful whistle.
At one time, the bright golden-yellow feathers of the yellow-breasted flower-mother were very appreciated. Thus, the famous yellow feather cloak of Kameamea I was estimated to include the feathers of 80,000 yellow-flowered flower girls.
The yellow-flowered mother-flower girl was last seen in 1899 near Kaumana in Hawaii, collector Henshaw, who, as mentioned by Tim Flannery in his book A Gap In Nature , shot and chased a wounded bird before it could escape from it with other birds.
The black mother flower girl [1] [2] ( Drepanis funerea ) was about 20 cm long and looked like a yellow mother mother flower girl, but was completely black, with the exception of small white stripes on the wings. The beak was more sharply curved than in the previous species, and had a small yellow spot at the base.
The forehead of the bird was often covered with pollen , which made it look pale. Lobelia also fed on nectar, but, unlike the yellow-breasted mother-flower girls, did this at lower levels. The bird was apparently curious and often approached the observers. Her call was like a whistle.
The black mother-flower girl was last seen in 1907 by collector Alanson Brown, who shot three birds. Tim Flannery quoted him as saying: “To my joy, I found twisted remains hanging in a tree in a thick bunch of leaves, six feet or more ...”
