Morning honey bird

Morning honey bird (Melisugornis aurorae)
Order: Passerines (Passeriformes)
Family: Hawaiian honey birds (Melisugornitidae)
Habitat: Hawaii, high-mountainous «silver woods».
Before colonization of the Hawaiian Islands by the man their fauna was represented mainly by birds and insects. Among the Hawaiian birds there was a special family of the Hawaiian honeycreepers (Drepanididae) which has a great importance for flora of islands. Different species of these birds were connected by the symbiotic relations with plants of islands: many species of local trees were pollinated by these birds, and often only by them. Therefore extinction of the Hawaiian honeycreepers led to that a number of species of plants also has disappeared.
The flora of the Hawaiian Islands of the neocene is represented by descendants of species, dropped off in former times, and isn't successive in relation to primary which existed here before man. But separate regularities in wildlife tend to repeat, and in new Hawaiian flora also there were symbiotic relations of some species of plants with birds. The place of the Hawaiian honeycreepers that have completely disappeared by neocene, occupied other family of birds, descends from taken to Hawaii Zosterops (Zosterops). They showed such inclinations for type of a food during an era of the man, and in the neocene this feature developed to a condition of deep specialization.
The Hawaiian honey birds represent accurately mounted family of the birds eating nectar. They live in the woods of different type – from high-mountainous to low-lying damp tropical. The just one limiting factor for them – permanent existence of blossoming plants.
For the Hawaiian honey birds rather small sizes of a body are characteristic: the largest species has a size of a starling, and other – even more small. All the species have rather bright coloring including different shades of yellow and green color, supplemented by metal shine and separate bright spots. One more characteristic sign of family – rings of naked white skin round eyes, heritage from the ancestor.
Wings of all honey birds are peaked, and tails are wide. At some species steering feathers of a tail have the elongated locks of feathers. Flight of these birds is fast and flexible. Honey birds of large species during feeding sit down on branches, and small species simply flit round a flower, as a humming-bird. Usually each species of honey birds is connected with a certain set of species of plants, feeding on them, and at the same time making pollination.
Voices of all species of cretaceous birds represent more or less long ringing trill. Different species prefer to sing at different times of the day - it helps to avoid mistakes at recognition of representatives of their species.
At all species of honey birds the nest represents a small basket skillfully twisted from vegetative fibers and suspended on the thinnest branches. Such feature is connected with that in the woods of the Hawaiian Islands of an era the neocene there were numerous mammals, descendants of the species dropped off by the man who can ruin nests of birds. In a laying are usually 4-5 eggs (at large species – 3-4) with a dark shell. Hatching lasts about 10 days. Baby birds develop quickly: in three weeks they grow, become fledged and leave the nest. In a year the laying can repeat three times (at small species – to 4 times). Young birds are capable to nest already in six-month-old age.
The morning honey bird lives in the rain woods of low-lying sites of islands. It is a species of the average sizes: in size of a sparrow, without considering a long beak. It is painted in bright yellow color, only on a back there is a site of the extended feathers of green color. During a marriage season males of this species show it to females, lifting back feathers vertically. Besides, over sites of the bared skin round eyes this species has "eyebrows" of the black feathers, allowing to recognize relatives visually.
Beak of this bird has white color, rather long: exceeds length of the head. Birds eat nectar of tubular flowers, including species of a treelike datura. Usually they sit down on a branch of a fodder plant, but if necessary are able to drink nectar hurriedly. Also these birds eat small insects, pecking them from branches or out of the flower.
This species have got the name that sings before all other species: since the earliest morning before sunrise. A voice of these birds is the long buzzing trill alternated with separate ringing shouts.