The ʻalawī is an endangered insect eater endemic to high-elevation forests on Hawaiʻi Island. It may look similar to ʻamakihi, with its greenish-yellowish-grey body and 5-inch length, but has a straighter and more pointed bill to probe through bark, a behavior that led to its English name of Hawaiʻi creeper. ʻAlawī also have a more distinct mask around their eyes as opposed to just black in between the eyes of the ʻamakihi.