A Wandering Blog

Say hello to Hawai‘i's eminently adorable but greatest at risk forest bird—the cute, round, ʻakikiki, or Kauaʻi creeper. These little birds have gray to greenish tops with white throats and underbellies. Their legs and beak are peachy-pink. Only found on the island of Kauaʻi, at last year’s count, there are only thought to be 45 individuals left in the wild. They represent the only member of their genus, Oreomystis.These social birds are often found together in small flocks or pairs. They like tall, old trees where they can nest and forage for insects and spiders. They lay 1-2 eggs and both mom and dad feed...

The only Hawaiian honeycreeper with a crested head, ‘ākohekohe (“AH-koh-heh-koh-heh”), lives in Maui Nui—the islands of Maui, Moloka‘i, Lāna‘i, and Kaho‘olawe. They are the largest honeycreepers still surviving in Maui Nui and are Critically Endangered.  Their plumage is pretty spectacular, they have silvery-blue-gray speckles flecked across their mostly black bodies and they are peppered with variations of citrusy orange, yellow, and white tipped feathers throughout. But best of all they have the bird version of a pompadour hairstyle which crowns a plume of curled white feathers across the top of their lovely heads.   Their Hawaiian name, ʻākohekohe, comes from one of their slightly less than melodic calls, other noises...

Today’s portrait is of the beautiful Palila from the island of Hawai’i. Palila are honeycreepers with finch-like bills and a preference for living and foraging among māmane trees.Both sexes look similar but males are a bit brighter and have black masks, females have a more gray mask. Palila are the chunkiest Hawaiian honeycreepers, weighing in around 1.34 oz.Almost all of the palila’s diet consists of immature māmane seeds but they also eat the flowers, buds, and leaves, in addition to naio berries and caterpillars. The amount of green māmane seeds produced in a season will influence nesting behavior. If the...

The ‘akiapōlā‘au (ah-kee-ah-POH-LAH-ow) is an endemic honeycreeper found on the island of Hawai‘i. - These birds have unique bills that are well suited to prying the bark off trees in search of bugs and larvae. The top mandible is long and curves down more towards the end, kind of like an elegant crowbar, while the bottom mandible is much shorter. - Males are bright yellow to a green-tinted yellow, have longer bills, are slightly bigger than the females, and sport little black Zorro-like masks. The females are muted green with touches of yellow. Their favorite trees for foraging are ‘ōhi‘a,...

The ‘elepaio ("el-ah-PIE-oh") is an adorable little endemic(originating and found only here) flycatcher in the Hawaiian Islands. There are three different species, each isolated on the islands of Kaua‘i, Hawai‘i, and O‘ahu. Their colors vary from sepia brown to chestnut, buff to tawny, with flecks of black throughout and mostly white below.  They get their name from their shrill song which is a whistle only sung by males.  They hunt for bugs on the ground, in logs and under rocks, and all parts of trees, and often catch them in flight.  Pairs remain together long-term and both males and females participate in rearing the chicks almost equally. They weave...