The purpose of this booklet is to help anyone who cares to learn about
the birdlife of the national parks in Hawaii. Many of you, here in
Hawaii for the first time, will not recognize most of our birds;
however, the species are so few (32 described here) that it will not be
too hard to narrow your identification to the correct one. The little
perching birds are likely to give the most trouble, and the commonest of
these are shown on the color plate. You will probably want to refer to
the plate first when identifying a small bird. Descriptions in the text
refer to similar species also, so if you see a bird that appears
somewhat, but not exactly, like one of the illustrations, look up the
illustrated species in the text for clues.
Hawaiian names, when known, are used as the common name for each bird,
except for species that range elsewhere (e.g., all the sea birds and
introduced birds). The _A.O.U. Checklist of North American Birds_ has
been used as the authority of nomenclature wherever applicable,
otherwise the _Checklist and Summary of Hawaiian Birds_ by E. H. Bryan,
Jr., has been followed. For every description, length from the tip of
the bill to the end of the tail is given in inches. The stated
distributions are for the park only and they emphasize accessible places
that you are most likely to visit.
The serious bird student will want to have books that include Hawaiian
birds outside the park. The latest edition of Peterson’s _A Field Guide
to Western Birds_ includes a section on Hawaii and will prove
invaluable.
In preparing the text for this booklet frequent reference was made to
George C. Munro, 1944, _Birds of Hawaii_ and Hawaii Audubon Society,
1959, _Hawaiian Birds_. The most important current references for the
Hawaiian honeycreeper group are Dean Amadon’s (1950) monograph, _The
Hawaiian Honeycreepers_ and _Annual Cycle_, _Environment and Evolution
in the Hawaiian Honeycreepers_ by Paul H. Baldwin (1953). Baldwin, a
former Assistant to the Superintendent of Hawaii National Park, has
authored several other important papers on birdlife here. _The Game
Birds in Hawaii_ by Charles W. and Elizabeth R. Schwartz is an
invaluable reference on gamebirds.
The author wishes to acknowledge helpful suggestions made by E. H.
Bryan, Jr., of the Bernice P. Bishop Museum; Robert L. Barrel, Robert W.
Carpenter, and Robert T. Haugen of Hawaii National Park; and Ronald L.
Walker and David H. Woodside of the State Division of Fish and Game. The
Bishop Museum generously loaned study specimens for the drawings.
The black and white and color drawings are by Ronald L. Walker, and all
photographs are by the author except where noted.
[Illustration: _Haleakala Crater, breeding grounds for the
dark-rumped petrel_]
[Illustration: PHOTO BY FRANK RICHARDSON
_Dark-rumped petrel_]
DARK-RUMPED PETREL _Pterodroma phaeopygia_
(Hawaiian name—uau)
DESCRIPTION: 15″. Underparts, forehead, and cheeks, white; back, upper
wings, and upper tail, dark. The crown is black.
PARK DISTRIBUTION: This petrel is a sea bird that nests in the mountains
of the Hawaiian group; it is the nesting birds that may be seen or heard
within the park between May and November. Kilauea—Status unknown; the
cliffs of Kilauea Crater may be used for nesting. Haleakala—Many birds
nest in the walls of the crater. The cliffs behind Kapalaoa and Holua
Cabins are the best places to hear them at night.
VOICE: As the birds fly overhead seeking their burrows after dusk, the
air is filled with their strange calls, some of which sound like the
barking of a small dog. A common pattern of notes is _oooo-wéh, ooo-wéh,
oo-wéh, oo-wéh_, etc., with the first notes drawn out and the last run
together in rapid succession.
Dark-rumped Petrels spend most of their life at sea, but in April and
May they begin their nightly flights inland to burrows they have
established high on the cliffs of Hawaiian volcanoes. A single egg is
laid near the end of the horizontal cavity that may be more than 6 feet
deep in the rocks. For the next 6 months the adults will fly in from the
ocean each night to tend the nest, arriving about an hour after sundown.
It is while they are circling in search of the burrows that you can hear
their mysterious barking sounds. The calling may continue for 2 hours or
more. Imagine the problems that each petrel must face trying to find its
own burrow 20 miles from the ocean on a foggy, moonless night—perhaps
the continuous calling back and forth helps orient it. The adults return
to the ocean before sunrise.
In the early days nesting birds were common on all the main Hawaiian
Islands; however, for a time it was feared that they were becoming
extinct. Hawaiians used to dig out the downy young petrels for food, and
introduced mongooses and cats also took a heavy toll, especially where
nests were at lower elevations. Now, with known breeding colonies high
on Haleakala and Mauna Kea and probably on Mauna Loa and Kilauea, the
future of this interesting species seems assured.
WHITE-TAILED TROPIC-BIRD _Phaëthon lepturus_
(Hawaiian name—koae)
DESCRIPTION: 30″-32″. Unmistakable as a large white bird with two
fantastically long tail plumes, soaring around rocky cliffs such as in
Halemaumau. There is some black on the upper wings and around the face.
PARK DISTRIBUTION: Kilauea—Uncommon, except locally. There are nearly
always a few birds soaring in Halemaumau, around the pit craters in the
Kau Desert, and near Hilina Pali. They are occasionally seen along the
coast. Haleakala—Some can usually be seen in the crater, especially
around the ruggedest cliffs such as behind Holua and Paliku Cabins.
VOICE: High pitched rasping cries.
Halemaumau—What a strange place for a sea bird! Yet these fish-eating
birds have nested in the Kilauea area for as long as we have records. In
recent years Halemaumau has been their favorite haunt, except when
volcano fumes drive them away, such as during the time when heavy
sulphur gasses filled the pit in June 1960. When Halemaumau erupts the
birds may become trapped by rapidly rising hot gas; in 1952 several of
them perished, falling into the molten lava below. For a meal the
Halemaumau birds must make at least a 10-mile flight to the ocean.
[Illustration: EXHIBIT AT THE PARK MUSEUM
_White-tailed tropic-bird_]
[Illustration: _Nene—the native Hawaiian goose_]
NENE _Branta sandvicensis_
(also Hawaiian goose)
DESCRIPTION: 23″-28″. The only ducklike bird apt to be seen in the park.
A medium sized goose with striking head and neck markings. The face,
crown, and top of the neck are black, the throat and neck sides are
cream colored, and the remainder of the body is mottled and dark.
PARK DISTRIBUTION: Formerly abundant in Hawaii and probably Maui. Now
extinct on Maui, while a few wild birds remain on Hawaii.
Kilauea—Occasionally seen on the slopes of Mauna Loa usually between
6,000 and 7,500 feet.
VOICE: Various thin, creaky notes. Often gives a high-pitched honking in
flight.
Because of recent studies, the habits of the nene are probably better
understood than those of any other native Hawaiian bird. The most
amazing thing about their life is the way they have forsaken water in
favor of rough, clinkery lava. All other ducks and geese rear their
young partly in water, but today the breeding grounds for the nene, high
on the barren slopes of Mauna Loa, are far from the nearest open water.
Here during the winter months the geese raise their broods of two to
five young. Berries, herbs, and grass growing in kipukas (islands of
vegetation surrounded by more recent lava flows) comprise the diet. At
present the nene is one of the rarest birds in the world and has been
near extinction in recent years.
The story of the nene’s decline is a sad one but it may yet have a happy
ending. Early visitors to the islands described the large flocks of nene
geese in the interior of Hawaii, but by 1900 a great decline in numbers
had occurred and in 1940 the entire population was estimated at 30 to 50
wild birds. Clearing of the land, introduction of such exotic mammals as
rats, pigs, dogs, and mongooses, and man himself through hunting—all
must share the blame for the nene decimation. Happily, the State of
Hawaii has taken vigorous recognition of this situation and a
restoration program was begun in 1949. The plan is to study the
remaining wild birds to learn how the decimating factors may be
controlled. Also nene raised in captivity have been released on Mauna
Loa to intermix with the wild flocks, and it is hoped that some day
visitors to Hawaii will again be assured of seeing these wonderful
geese.
[Illustration: PHOTO BY GEORGE C. RUHLE
_Nene Nest_]
IO _Buteo solitarius_
(also Hawaiian hawk)
DESCRIPTION: 16″-18″. The only hawklike bird to be seen on the islands,
except for accidental migrants. This small _Buteo_ has both light and
dark color phases. Can be distinguished from the Pueo, Hawaii’s diurnal
owl, by a smaller head and more soaring flight.
PARK DISTRIBUTION: Found only on the island of Hawaii.
Kilauea—Occasional throughout the park. Individuals are often seen
soaring around the forested craters such as Kilauea Iki and Makaopuhi,
or in the more open areas such as along the Mauna Loa Strip road.
VOICE: A medium-pitched, but fairly soft, scream.
The io is certainly one of the rarest hawks in the world, as its range
is limited to the island of Hawaii, and even here it is not common. It
feeds on rats, mice, and large insects and spiders, and occasionally
will catch birds, but today birds comprise a minor part of the diet. It
tends to be tamer than mainland hawks, perhaps because it has not been
harassed as much in recent years, and sometimes you can approach a
perched io quite closely. Because of its rodent diet, the io is a very
beneficial bird to Hawaii.
[Illustration: _California quail (male and female)_]