It has a strong flight which it uses to fly considerable distances in search of this vine, but it will eat other fruits, buds, flowers and insects.

It was known to have been a nomadic forager that made strong flights to follow seasonally available fruit crops across a broad elevational gradient.

The largest and most secure population above Waiākea were driven from its habitat in 1984 when the area was devastated by a lava flow from Mauna Loa.

The ʻōʻū was restricted to the mid-elevation ʻōhiʻa lehua (Metrosideros polymorpha) forests of the Big Island and the Alakaʻi Wilderness Preserve on Kauaʻi.

Also, there was considerable seasonal movement between different altitudes according to the availability of the species' favorite food, the bracts and fruit of the ʻieʻie (Freycinetia arborea).

This probably was the species' undoing, as it thus came in contact with mosquitoes transmitting avian malaria and fowlpox, which are exceptionally lethal to most Hawaiian honeycreepers.

These recovery plans recommend active land management, controlling the spread of introduced plants and animals, closely monitoring new land activity or development to prevent further destruction of forest bird habitat, and the establishment of captive propagation and sperm bank programs.