amakihi

noun

ama·​ki·​hi ˌä-mä-ˈkē-hē 

plural amakihi or amakihis

: any of several species of small yellowish- to grayish-green birds (genus Hemignathus synonym Viridonia synonym Loxops) that are Hawaiian honeycreepers which have curved bills and long tube-shaped tongues and which feed especially on nectar and insects

We hear the buzzy call of the amakihi, but cannot spot the yellow-green bird.

—Milly Boren, New York Times, 31 May 1988

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Hawaiian 'amakihi

First Known Use

1901, in the meaning defined above

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