Part 7

DESCRIPTION: 9″. No other bird like it. Black, brown, and white with yellow bill, feet, and skin around the eye; above all noisy. Large white wing patches are conspicuous in flight.

PARK DISTRIBUTION: Introduced from India in 1865. Kilauea—Common at Park Headquarters, around other human habitations, and to the south especially around Hilina Pali. Occasional in the Kau Desert. Haleakala—A few live around the Park Headquarters area in the summer months but they descend to lower elevations in winter.

VOICE: A raucous mixture of squawks, mews, and chirrs not likely to be mistaken for any other bird.

For a bird that prefers to live around human habitations, the mynah is extremely wary of people—probably with good reason, for among the imported birds the mynah has never been particularly well loved. Yet it is at least partly beneficial since it often feeds on agricultural insect pests. “Mynah bird” has become a favorite Hawaiian expression for anyone who chatters endlessly.

WHITE-EYE Zosterops palpibrosus (also mejiro)

DESCRIPTION: 4½″. A tiny yellow-green bird with a distinct white eye-ring. Its back and wings are green, the throat yellow, and under parts gray; the bill is thin and straight. Only other common small green bird is the amakihi, which has no white around the eyes. Immatures are duller, and the eye-ring, although present, is less distinct.

PARK DISTRIBUTION: Introduced from Japan in 1929. Now widely established on all islands. Kilauea—Common almost everywhere in the park. Haleakala—Fairly common throughout the park, except at the highest elevations or in the barren portions of the crater.

VOICE: A thin, high-pitched song a bit like that of the house finch, but much higher and not as loud. Note: a high tsee or chee given repeatedly.

You will hear a rapid chittering of high notes as a flock of three or four white-eyes fly into the nearby shrubbery. Notice how quickly they work over the foliage and limbs gleaning tiny insects. They continue to utter their notes as they feed, but soon one by one they are off again to new vegetation.

The pattern of population increase for the white-eye has paralleled that of many exotic species. Following their introduction in 1929 the birds were at first slow to increase their range, but in more recent years a population explosion has taken place ... on the Island of Hawaii, at least. It is presently the commonest bird on the island and it seems to have adapted to nearly every habitat. There is every indication that the white-eye, competing for insects with native Hawaiian birds such as the Hawaiian creeper, has virtually eliminated some of the natives from their former habitat.

AMAKIHI Loxops virens

DESCRIPTION: 4½″. Yellow-green with no outstanding markings, and a dark slightly downcurved bill. The male is bright green above with a yellowish breast, while the female and immatures are duller, tending toward gray-green. It is a real problem to distinguish between a female or young amakihi and the very rare Hawaiian creeper (next bird).

PARK DISTRIBUTION: Kilauea—Very common on the slopes of Mauna Loa around tree-line (for example along the Mauna Loa trail); less common in the wet ohia forests around Kilauea Crater and along the Chain of Craters road. Haleakala—Common in the open forests such as Hosmer Grove and Paliku.

VOICE: The usual song, a slow tinkling trill, tink-tink-tink-tink-tink-tink-tink or wheedle-wheedle-wheedle, etc., is uttered by the male. Commonest foraging note (both sexes) is a high djeee; another note is wheee with a rising inflection.

You will see a little green bird flit into a mamani or other nearby tree and begin to seek insects among the foliage, visiting the blossoms for nectar if the tree happens to be in bloom. You hear a buzzy djeee and you have made acquaintance with the amakihi. This Hawaiian honeycreeper prefers more open forest than do the other two common members of the family, the apapane and iiwi. But often all three are found together, with the amakihis working through the entire foliage and not just in the tree tops.

Seasonal movements are much less obvious than for either apapanes or iiwis, probably because amakihis are less dependent on flowering periods. However, some migration does occur, especially in and out of their lower range below 3,000 feet elevation. Nesting is in late spring and early summer.

HAWAIIAN CREEPER Loxops maculata

DESCRIPTION: 4½″. Very similar to the female or immature amakihi, but the bill is straighter and tends to be lighter in color. Creepers search for insects on the trunks and heavier branches, while amakihis usually work more in the foliage.

PARK DISTRIBUTION: Kilauea—Now very rare in the upper rain forest or koa parkland on Mauna Loa. Haleakala—Has not been definitely recorded within the park for many years.

Twenty years ago creepers were often seen in the Mauna Loa Strip area of the Kilauea Section, but from 1958-1960 the author saw only one. On the other hand, introduced white-eyes have greatly increased their numbers in recent years, and now they are by far the commonest bird along the Mauna Loa Strip. White-eyes feed in much the same manner as creepers—they carefully glean tiny insects from limbs of ohia, mamani, and other trees. It seems likely that direct competition for insects by the white-eyes is an important factor in the recent decline of Hawaiian creepers.

OU Psittirostra psittacea

DESCRIPTION: 6½″. A greenish bird with a heavy parrotlike bill. Male: Varying shades of green above, lighter below, with a bright yellow head that give it the appearance of being unusually large headed. Female and Immature: Lack the yellow head.

PARK DISTRIBUTION: Kilauea—Rare; in the wet tree-fern jungle. Thurston Lava Tube is within its range. Haleakala—Absent from Maui.

VOICE: A beautiful singer, according to Munro. Note: a medium high-pitched teweé.

Ous are fairly inactive birds, often spending long periods quietly on the branch of an ohia or other tree, and would be difficult to locate in the dense forest except for the bright male plumage. They frequently travel in pairs and apparently have a small individual range, for the same pair may be seen day after day in one locality. Their food consists of fruit.

APAPANE Himatione sanguinea

DESCRIPTION: 5½″. Crimson red with black wings and tail, white abdomen, and slightly down-curved black bill. Only similar species, the iiwi, has a red abdomen and a long orange bill. Immatures are confusing, as the red is mostly lacking. However, grayish birds having a touch of rusty red on the sides and white under the tail, and feeding in ohia tops, are surely this species. The throat and face of young apapanes may appear yellow-orange.

PARK DISTRIBUTION: Kilauea—Common to abundant throughout the wet ohia forest; much less common in the drier forests. Haleakala—Common locally in forested areas such as Hosmer Grove or Paliku.