 Its natural habitat is wet forests dominated by "koa" ("Acacia koa") and "ōhia lehua" ("Metrosideros polymorpha") on the windward side of Haleakalā at elevations of .During a search for the species in the east Maui forests, there were a record of 415 observations over an area of and at elevations from above sea level.It has been estimated that there are a total of 3,800 ākohekohe left on Maui in two populations separated by the Koolau Gap.