Editing ʻElepaio (section)

==Distribution==
[[File:Elepaio colonization of Hawaiian archipelago.png|right|thumb|The sequential colonization and [[speciation]] of the ''Chasiempis sandwichensis'' subspecies (denoted by the orange arrows) with their divergence times and island geological ages.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Stepping stone speciation in Hawaii's flycatchers: molecular divergence supports new island endemics within the elepaio |author1=Eric A. VanderWerf |author2=Lindsay C. Young |author3=Norine W. Yeung |author4=David B. Carlon |journal=Conservation Genetics |year=2010 |volume=11 |issue=4 |pages=1283–1298 |doi=10.1007/s10592-009-9958-1 |s2cid=35883704 }}</ref>]]
Uniquely among Hawaiian passerines, the distribution of the {{okina}}elepaio is peculiarly discontinuous. According to fossil remains, the birds did not occur on [[Maui Nui]] or its successor islands. Their current distribution is absent from the Maui Nui island group. If this assumption is correct, the reasons are unknown at present. However, the strange "flycatcher finches", extinct [[Hawaiian honeycreeper|honeycreepers]] of the genus ''[[Vangulifer]]'', are only known to have inhabited Maui and probably evolved on Maui Nui.<ref name=James/> There, they probably filled the same [[ecological niche]] as the {{okina}}elepaio did on the other islands. Competition from ''Vangulifer'' may thus have prevented a successful colonization of Maui Nui by ''Chasiempis''.