Lifebirds #324-344 - More Birds of Paradise
I’ve just returned after spending one week on the big island of Hawaii. This was not a “birding trip,” but rather a family vacation, ostensibly to celebrate my 50th birthday. Eight of us made the trip; only three of us are birders. So Dad, Joann, and I promised the group that we would spend only one day birding, and we almost kept that promise.
There are three broad categorizations for the birds of Hawaii.
The first thing to know about birding Hawaii is that most of the birds likely to be seen shouldn’t be there at all. That is to say that they wouldn’t be there without human help. These are the INTRODUCED species, sometimes called “invasive” or “non-native.” Some of these are familiar to those of us from North America. Among others, we saw Northern Cardinals, Cattle Egrets, Mallards, and House Sparrows (of course, the House Sparrow is an Eurasian species that was introduced to North America). Others of the introduced species we saw are native to East Asia, South Pacific Islands, and other parts of the world. Japanese White-eye, Red-billed Leiothrix, Yellow-billed Cardinals, Saffron Finches, Zebra Doves, and Common Mynas are examples of these that we were able to find. Believe me, a few of these needed no “finding” at all.
There are birds on the island of Hawaii that are widespread throughout the Pacific, and even the world, that are considered to be NATIVE to the island. These birds found their own way to the island. Some, like the Pacific Golden Plover are migrants, and some spend a part of their year in the area. Others, like the Black-crowned Night-Heron, are widespread species whose ancestors found the place, liked it, and now stay year-round.
The third category, and the most sought after by bird-nerd visitors to the island, are the ENDEMIC species. These birds are native to the islands of Hawaii, and are found nowhere else in the world. These are the hardest to find, and in fact, many Hawaiian endemics cannot be found. They are extinct. From 27% to 49% of Hawaiian endemics have gone extinct since Captain Cook “discovered” the islands in 1778 [See Wikipedia’s list of extinct native animals of Hawaii and its list of Hawaii’s endemic bird species]. Habitat destruction, predation by introduced mammals, and competition with introduced birds are among the causes of these losses.
You can guess, of course, into which of these categories most of the birds we found fell. By my count, we found 21 introduced, 6 native, and 6 endemic species. (I’m relying on the Hawaii Audubon Society for categorizations.) Still, we had great time. All three of us added 21 birds to our life lists. The highlight of our birding occurred on a trail in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park where we saw hundreds of Apapanes (high and unphotographable in ohia trees), the beautiful—but non-native—Red-billed Leiothrix, the Hawaii Eleipaio, and the Omao.
I was able to photograph only the easiest-to-find birds and none of the endemics. Eight of my twenty-one lifers are represented by photos on this page: Red-billed Leiothrix, Saffron Finch, Kalij Pheasant, Common Myna, Pacific Golden Plover, Yellow-fronted Canary, and Yellow-billed Cardinal. Click on any photo to see larger versions of these and a few additional photos.
| Species | Common Myna / Acridotheres tristis |
| Species | Saffron Finch / Sicalis flaveola |
| Where | North Kona District, Hawaii, HI |
| When | Jul 18 2010 |
| Species | Yellow-billed Cardinal / Paroaria capitata |
| Species | Spotted Dove / Spilopelia chinensis |
| Species | Pacific Golden Plover / Pluvialis fulva |
| Where | North Kona District, Hawaii, HI |
| When | Jul 19 2010 |
| Species | Hawaiian Coot / Fulica alai |
| Species | Kalij Pheasant / Lophura leucomelanos |
| Species | Hawaii Amakihi / Hemignathus virens |
| Species | Apapane / Himatione sanguinea |
| Species | Japanese White-eye / Zosterops japonicus |
| Where | North Kona District, Hawaii, HI |
| Species | Erckel's Francolin / Pternistis erckelii |
| Species | Hawaiian Hawk / Buteo solitarius |
| Where | Saddleback Road, Hawaii, HI |
| Species | White-faced Ibis / Plegadis chihi |
| Where | South Hilo District, Hawaii, HI |
| Species | Red-billed Leiothrix / Leiothrix lutea |
| Species | Hwamei / Garrulax canorus |
| Species | Hawaii Elepaio / Chasiempis sandwichensis |
| Species | Omao / Myadestes obscurus |
| Where | Volcanoes Natl Park, Hawaii, HI |
| When | Jul 21 2010 |
| Species | Yellow-fronted Canary / Crithagra mozambica |
| Species | Nutmeg Mannikin / Lonchura punctulata |
| Species | Gray Francolin / Francolinus pondicerianus |
| Where | North Kona District, Hawaii, HI |
| When | Jul 23 2010 |
| Species | Brown Booby / Sula leucogaster |
| Where | North Hilo District, Hawaii, HI |
| When | Jul 24 2010 |
| With | (for most) Joann, Dad |
| Numbers | 324-344 |
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