Most species of Birds that occurred in Hawai'i were given names by the Ancient Hawaiians and some are still used today, with some modifications to reflect modern taxonomy. For example, 'amakihi is a traditional name but Kaua'i 'Amakihi is a modern construct. Below is a list of species with their English name (if they have one), Scientific name, Hawaiian name and in some cases what the Hawaiian name means. Most of these names were learned from native Hawaiian speakers by haole ornithologists during the 19th century, and some of them have been controversial for a variety of reasons. Munro reported the name Hoa for the Greater Koa-Finch, but other authors disputed the validity of that name and it was not widely adopted. Sometimes native speakers gave different names to the same bird, as in Apapane vs. Akakane. Wilson reported the name 'O'u-holowai for the bird we call the Akeke'e, but Perkins corrected it based on wider contact with Hawaiian informants. Victorian scholars cringed at the name 'Akohekohe because it is a slightly prurient pun. Although it is onomatopoetic, it is also a reference to the resemblance of the bird's crest to pubic hair. The Hawaiians apparently had a well-developed sense of humor. Some Hawaiian names had specific meanings ('Ula-'ai-hawane translates roughly as "red palm creeper"), some were imitative ('elepaio, probably 'I'iwi) and others were just the name of the bird (after all, what does "oriole" or "sparrow" mean in English?). Those names that derive from the birds call or song are marked with the followinghttp://www.birdinghawaii.co.uk/Hawaiianbirdnames2.htm
