Endemic birds of Hawaii
Encyclopedia
This article is one of a series providing information about endemism
among birds in the World's various zoogeographic zones. For an overview of this subject see Endemism in birds
.
There are 71 known taxa of endemic Hawaiian birds, of which 23 are extinct and 30 of the remaining 48 species and subspecies are listed as endangered
or threatened by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Habitat loss and avian disease are thought to have had the greatest effect on endemic bird species in Hawaii
.
Procellariidae
Anatidae
Rallidae
Sylviidae
Endemic (ecology)
Endemism is the ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, all species of lemur are endemic to the...
among birds in the World's various zoogeographic zones. For an overview of this subject see Endemism in birds
Endemism in birds
An endemic bird area is a region of the world that contains two or more restricted-range species, while a "secondary area" contains one or more restricted-range species. Both terms were devised by Birdlife International....
.
There are 71 known taxa of endemic Hawaiian birds, of which 23 are extinct and 30 of the remaining 48 species and subspecies are listed as endangered
Endangered species
An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...
or threatened by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Habitat loss and avian disease are thought to have had the greatest effect on endemic bird species in Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
.
ProcellariidaeProcellariidaeThe family Procellariidae is a group of seabirds that comprises the fulmarine petrels, the gadfly petrels, the prions, and the shearwaters. This family is part of the bird order Procellariiformes , which also includes the albatrosses, the storm-petrels, and the diving petrels.The procellariids are...
- Hawaiian PetrelHawaiian PetrelThe Hawaiian Petrel or Uau is a large, dark grey-brown and white petrel that is endemic to Hawaii.-Distribution:...
Uau, Pterodroma sandwichensis (VU) - Newell's ShearwaterNewell's ShearwaterNewell's Shearwater or Hawaiian Shearwater is a seabird belonging to the genus Puffinus in the family Procellariidae. It belongs to a confusing group of shearwaters which are difficult to identify and whose classification is controversial...
or Ao, Puffinus newelli (EN)
AnatidaeAnatidaeAnatidae is the biological family of birds that includes ducks, geese and swans. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring on all the world's continents except Antarctica and on most of the world's islands and island groups...
- Hawaiian GooseHawaiian GooseThe Nene, also known as Nēnē and Hawaiian Goose, is a species of goose endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. The official bird of the state of Hawaii, the Nene is exclusively found in the wild on the islands of Maui, Kauai and Hawaii...
or Nēnē, Branta sandvicensis (VU) - Hawaiian DuckHawaiian DuckThe Hawaiian Duck is a species of bird in the family Anatidae. It is endemic to the large islands of Hawaii. Some authorities treat it as an island subspecies of the Mallard, based on their capacity to produce fertile hybrids, but it appears well distinct and capability of hybridization is...
or Koloa maoli, Anas wyvilliana (EN) - Laysan DuckLaysan DuckThe Laysan Duck , also known as the Laysan Teal because of its small size, is an endangered dabbling duck endemic to the Hawaiian Islands...
, Anas laysanensis (CR)
RallidaeRallidaeThe rails, or Rallidae, are a large cosmopolitan family of small to medium-sized birds. The family exhibits considerable diversity and the family also includes the crakes, coots, and gallinules...
- Laysan RailLaysan RailThe Laysan Rail or Laysan Crake was a tiny inhabitant of the Northwest Hawaiian Island of Laysan. This small island was and still is an important seabird colony, and sustained a number of endemic species, including the rail. It became extinct due to habitat loss by domestic rabbits, and ultimately...
, Porzana palmeri † - Hawaiian RailHawaiian RailThe Hawaiian Rail , Hawaiian Spotted Rail, or Hawaiian Crake was a somewhat enigmatic species of diminutive rail that lived on Big Island of Hawaii, but is now extinct. It was a flightless bird that was apparently found in shrubland and secondary growth on abandoned fields and in times of danger...
, Porzana sandwichensis † - Hawaiian Moorhen or Alae ula, Gallinula chloropus sandwichensis
- Hawaiian CootHawaiian CootThe Hawaiian Coot or alae keokeo is a species of bird in the rail family, Rallidae, that is endemic to Hawaii....
Alae keokeo, Fulica alai (VU)
Meliphagidae
- Kauai Ōō, Moho braccatus †
- Oahu Ōō, Moho apicalis †
- Molokai Ōō, Moho bishopi †
- Hawaii Ōō, Moho nobilis †
- KioeaKioeaThe Kioea was a Hawaiian bird that became extinct around 1859. The kioea was in decline even before the discovery of Hawaii by Europeans. Even native Hawaiians are seemingly unfamiliar with this bird. The feathers of the kioea were not used in Hawaiian featherwork, nor is it mentioned in any...
, Chaetoptila angustipluma †
Monarchidae
- Kauai Elepaio, Chasiempis sandwichensis sclateri
- Oahu Elepaio, Chasiempis sandwichensis ibidis
- Hawaii Elepaio, Chasiempis sandwichensis sandwichensis
SylviidaeSylviidaeSylviidae is a family of passerine birds that was part of an assemblage known as the Old World warblers. The family was formerly a wastebin taxon with over 400 species of bird in over 70 genera. The family was poorly defined with many characteristics shared with other families...
- Laysan MillerbirdLaysan MillerbirdThe Laysan Millerbird was a subspecies of the Millerbird, similar in appearance to the remaining subspecies, the Nihoa Millerbird. Its dorsal side was brown, and its belly was grayish...
, Acrocephalus familaris familaris † - Nihoa MillerbirdNihoa MillerbirdThe Nihoa Millerbird is a subspecies of the Millerbird. It gets its name from its preferred food, the Miller moth. The five-inch long Millerbird has dark, sepia-colored feathers, white belly, and dark beak...
, Acrocephalus familaris kingi
Turdidae
- Kamao, Myadestes myadestinus †
- [[ʻĀmaui|Āmaui]], Myadestes oahensis †
- Olomao, Myadestes lanaiensis lanaiensis
- OmaoOmao (bird)The ʻŌmaʻo is an endemic species of robin-like bird found only on the island of Hawaii. Omao are closely related to the other endemic thrushes of the Hawaiian Islands, the Kamao, the Olomao, and the Puaiohi. Omao are found primarily in rainforest in the eastern and southeastern regions of the Big...
, Myadestes obscurus (VU) - PuaiohiPuaiohiThe Puaiohi or Small Kauai Thrush The Puaiohi or Small Kauai Thrush The Puaiohi or Small Kauai Thrush ((Myadestes palmeri) is a rare species of songbird in the thrush family, Turdidae, that is endemic to the Hawaiian island of Kauai. It is closely related to the other four endemic Hawaiian...
, Myadestes palmeri (CR)
Drepanididae
- Laysan FinchLaysan FinchThe Laysan Finch is a species of finch in the Hawaiian honeycreeper subfamily, Drepanidinae, that is endemic to the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. It is one of four remaining finch-billed Hawaiian honeycreepers, and is closely related to the smaller Nihoa Finch. The Laysan Finch is named for...
, Telespiza cantans (VU) - Nihoa FinchNihoa FinchThe Nihoa Finch is one of the two endemic bird species of the tiny Hawaiian island Nihoa, the other being the Nihoa Millerbird. When it was classified in 1917, scientists thought that it would be the last endemic species named. This was later found untrue. The island's population is 1000-3000 birds...
, Telespiza ultima (CR) - [[ʻŌʻū|Ōū]], Psittirostra psittacea (CR)
- Lanai Hookbill, Dysmorodrepanis munroi †
- PalilaPalilaThe Palila is a critically endangered finch-billed species of Hawaiian honeycreeper. It has a golden-yellow head and breast, with a light belly, gray back, and greenish wings and tail...
, Loxioides bailleui (EN) - Lesser Koa-finch, Rhodacanthis flaviceps †
- Greater Koa-finch, Rhodacanthis palmeri †
- Kona GrosbeakKona GrosbeakThe Kona Grosbeak is an extinct species of finch in the Hawaiian honeycreeper subfamily, Drepanidinae. The Kona Grosbeak was endemic to naio forests on ʻaʻā lava flows at elevations of near the Kona District on the island of Hawaii...
, Chloridops kona † - Maui ParrotbillMaui ParrotbillThe Maui Parrotbill or kiwikiu is a species of finch in the Hawaiian honeycreeper subfamily, Drepanidinae, that is endemic to Maui in Hawaii. It can only be found in of mesic and wet forests at on the windward slopes of Haleakalā. This species is critically endangered, with an estimated...
, Pseudonestor xanthophrys (CR) - Kauai Akialoa, Akialoa stejnegeri or Hemignathus ellisianus procerus
- Oahu AkialoaOahu 'AkialoaThe Oahu Akialoa was a species of finch in the Fringillidae family. The Oahu Akialoa was a species of Akialoa, or long-billed insectivorous bird that was that was found in the high elevation forest. It was a dull colored species, dull green on the belly, bright green on tail on rump and tail, dark...
, Akialoa ellisiana or Hemignathus ellisianus ellisianus - Maui Nui AkialoaMaui Nui 'AkialoaThe Maui Nui 'Akialoa or Lana'i 'Akialoa is a species of finch in the Fringillidae family. It was endemic to the island of Lanai, Hawaii in modern times, but seems to have occurred on all major islands of former Maui Nui before human settlement. The Maui Nui Akialoa was one of the birds that made...
, Akialoa lanaiensis or Hemignathus ellisianus lanaiensis - Lesser Akialoa, Akialoa obscura or Hemignathus obscurus †
- Common Amakihi, Hemignathus virens (LC)
- Oahu Amakihi, Hemignathus flavus (VU)
- Kaui Amakihi, Hemignathus kauaiensis (VU)
- Greater Amakihi, Hemignathus sagittirostris †
- NukupuuNukupu‘uThe Nukupuu is a critically endangered species of Hawaiian honeycreeper in the Fringillidae family. There are no recent confirmed records and it may be extinct or functionally extinct. Its habitat is dense mesic and wet forests of ōhia lehua and koa at altitudes of .Males have yellow underparts...
, Hemignathus lucidus (CR) - [[ʻAkiapolaʻau|Akiapolaau]], Hemignathus munroi (EN)
- [[ʻAnianiau|Anianiau]], Magumma parva (VU)
- [[ʻAkikiki|Akikiki]], Oreomystis bairdi (CR)
- Hawaii Creeper, Oreomystis mana (EN)
- Oahu Alauahio, Paroreomyza maculata (CR)
- Maui Alauahio, Paroreomyza montana (EN)
- Kakawahie, Paroreomyza flammea †
- Akekee‘Akeke‘eThe Akekee is a bird species in the family Fringillidae, where it is placed in the Hawaiian honeycreeper genus Loxops. It is endemic to the island of Kauai where it is found in small numbers in higher elevations...
, Loxops caeruleirostris (CR) - [[ʻAkepa|Akepa]], Loxops coccineus (EN)
- [[ʻUla-ʻai-Hawane|Ula-ai-Hawane]], Ciridops anna †
- [[ʻIʻiwi|Iiwi]], Vestiaria coccinea (VU)
- Hawaii MamoHawai'i MamoThe Hawai'i Mamo was a species of finch in the Hawaiian honeycreeper subfamily, Drepanididae. It was endemic to Hawaii. It became extinct due to habitat loss and overcollecting.-Description:...
, Drepanis pacifica † - Black MamoBlack MamoThe Black Mamo is an extinct bird species once endemic to the island of Molokai, although there is fossil evidence of it having lived on Maui....
, Drepanis funerea † - [[ʻAkohekohe|Akohekohe]], Palmeria dolei (CR)
- [[ʻApapane|Apapane]], Himatione sanguinea (LC)
- Poouli, Melamprosops phaeosoma (CR)
See also
- List of birds of Hawaii
- List of bird species introduced to the Hawaiian Islands
- Endemism in the Hawaiian IslandsEndemism in the Hawaiian IslandsLocated some 2,400 miles from the nearest continental shore, the Hawaiian Islands are the most isolated group of islands on the planet...
- List of extinct animals of the Hawaiian Islands
External links
- USGS Biology Programs, Informative site but species classification is out of date
- IUCN Redlist of Threatened Species
- Hawai'i's Endemic Forest Birds - Distribution, Status and Population Updates 2002
- Hawaii's Species of Greatest Conservation Need: Process and SGCN Fact Sheets