The Mao or Ma'oma'o is a passerine bird belonging to the genus Gymnomyza in the honeyeater family Meliphagidae. It is an endangered species and is endemic to the Samoan Islands.
It is a large honeyeater, 28–31 cm long. The plumage is dark, varying from blackish on the head and breast to olive-green on the wings and body. There is a dark greenish mark under the eye. The bill is long, curved and black in an adult and yellowish in a chick or juvinle and the legs and feet are also black. Adult birds have light blue eyes whilst juveniles have a brown iris. It chareristically bobs its tail while foraging along the trunk and branches of trees.
Nests are built at varying heights in the branches of many different tree species. A single whitish brown speckled egg is laid in a simple sticky cup nest. The single chick is in the nest for approximately 1 month prior to fledging. During this time it is feed both small vertebrates, such as geckos, and insects. After leaving the nest the juvenile remains in the core breeding territory where it is fed by the female for 2-2.5 additional months. During this time it follows the female making loud begging calls.
It is a noisy bird with beautiful loud whistling and mewing calls given most often prior to dawn and before dusk. A breeding pair also do complex duets.
It is found on the islands of Upolu and Savai'i and formerly occurred also on Tutuila but is now locally extinct in the later. It normally inhabits mountain forest but has also been recorded in scrub and coastal coconut trees. There is thought to be a population of approximately 1000-250 birds and it is thought to be declining. It is threatened by destruction of the forest and the spread of introduced predators such as rats.