The Scarlet Hawaiian honeycreeper ('i'iwi) from my "Cool and Unusual Birds". This was probably my favorite bird I saw on my last trip to the big island of Hawai'i. It's song sounds like a squeaky hinge. This bright-red bird hovers like a hummingbird and has long been featured in the folklore and songs of native Hawaiians. It is threatened by climate change, which is causing mosquitoes that carry introduced diseases including avian pox and malaria to move into the honeycreeper's higher-elevations refuges. It has been eliminated from low elevations on all islands by these diseases. On July 12, 2011, the Center for Biological Diversity struck a historic legal settlement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, requiring the agency to make initial or final decisions on whether to add 757 imperiled plants and animals to the endangered species list by 2018. The Endangered Species Act is America's strongest environmental law and surest way to save species threatened with extinction. The settlement was just signed and approved by a federal judge on September 9. The Center for Biological Diversity petitioned to list the 'i'iwi as an endangered species in 2010. It is not on the candidate list. Under the agreement, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will propose it for protection (or determine it does not qualify) in 2016 and finalize the decision in 2017 if warranted. http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/biodiversity/species_agreement/index.html Credits: 'i'iwi and backing photo(me/Songbird Remix) and 3d plants from xFrog's Oceania set