A bright red Hawaiian honeycreeper of high elevation native forests on Kauai, Maui, and Hawaii Island. Very rare on Oahu and Molokai. The brilliant crimson color and long, curved salmon-colored bill are diagnostic. Juveniles are mottled green, yellow, and orange. Very active and boisterous in the understory and forest canopy. Aggressively chases other birds from flowering trees. Vocalizations include a complex array of gurgles, chuckles, and reedy notes, more varied, lower pitched, and louder than those of the Apapane.