Part 8

VOICE: You will hear a constant chorus of short songs and notes from the highest ohia tops whenever apapanes are about. The quality varies from sweet whistled notes to harsh chips and buzzes, usually intermixed. Probably the most varied songster in the park.

The apapane is likely to be your first introduction to the endemic Hawaiian honeycreepers. While most of Hawaii’s native birds have either become extinct or are greatly reduced in numbers, this species seems to have held its own wherever there are ohia trees to provide a supply of lehua nectar. Examine a cluster of red ohia blossoms. You will find that each tiny cup which bears long bright stamens is filled with honey. A single ohia in full bloom with countless thousands of these nectar-cups must produce many pounds of honey. No wonder one blossoming tree will attract so many honeycreepers.

You will see the birds high in the trees, flitting about from flower to flower, often stopping to pick up insects along the way. Although a few trees are in bloom throughout the year in any given area, there are definite “flowering periods” for the ohia when more than half of the trees may be in full blossom. The season for these flowering periods will vary among localities, and tremendous flocks of apapanes and other honeycreepers follow the bloom from one area to another. They can often be seen flying high overhead in small groups, all going in the same direction. But even during times when the ohias are out of bloom a few apapanes will remain in the forest.

The breeding season is an extended one, and you may see immature apapanes with almost no sign of red plumage from February to October.

IIWI Vestiaria coccinea

DESCRIPTION: 5¾″. A brilliant scarlet body and long, orange, sickle-shaped bill distinguishes this honeycreeper. Lacks the white abdomen of the apapane. Immatures appear greenish-yellow with patches of red developing with age, but the long orange bill is always diagnostic.

PARK DISTRIBUTION: Kilauea—Common in the wet ohia forest, especially when the trees are in bloom. Kipuka Puaulu and the vicinity of Thurston Lava Tube are likely places. Haleakala—Fairly common in Hosmer Grove and the forest behind Paliku.

VOICE: The creaking of a rusty gate, ker-eeék is the best description for its commonest note. Other calls include a sharp whistle and a short warble, all rather harsh.

Look for this bright Hawaiian honeycreeper among flocks of apapanes in the forest. On a calm day you will hear the heavy flutter of their wings as they fly from tree to tree. Apapanes also have a similar feather structure which produces such noisy flight.

Iiwis tend to feed more in the upper-middle branches rather than the high tops, and they seem to remain in a single tree for a longer time than the apapanes. Their food is made up of nectar (ohia, mamane, and other flowers) which they suck up through tubular tongues that extend the length of their sickle bills, and the larger insects. Old koa trees often attract iiwis, presumably because of the insects.

You will see birds in green juvenile plumage any time from February until autumn. These young birds seem to be especially affected by bird lice, for they spend much time scratching and preening.

RICEBIRD Munia nisoria

DESCRIPTION: 4″. A tiny, dark-faced bird with a heavy blackish bill. Differs from house sparrow and house finch females in its smaller size, the dark face and throat, and under parts that look speckled. The flanks may appear barred. Nearly always in flocks.

PARK DISTRIBUTION: Introduced to the islands about 1865. Now established on all main islands. Kilauea—Occasional to common along most park roads except in the Kau Desert and the upper Mauna Loa Strip. Haleakala—Absent from the park.

VOICE: A short wheek or whireép, softer than the chip of the house finch, and usually repeated.

Ricebirds used to be great pests among the rice fields of lower elevations, but their numbers have diminished now that little rice is grown on the islands. Notice the flocks of half-a-dozen or so that fly out with short wing beats along park roads, trails, or other places where weeds thrive. They are primarily ground feeders and even in flight they seldom rise much above the ground surface.

HOUSE SPARROW Passer domesticus (also English sparrow)

DESCRIPTION: 6″. Almost everyone knows this chunky, grayish-brown bird with a heavy bill, restricted to areas of human habitation. Males have black throats; females gray.

PARK DISTRIBUTION: Introduced before 1870. Kilauea—Restricted to areas of human habitations. Haleakala—A few around Park Headquarters, mainly during the summer months.

VOICE: Dull chirps.

CARDINAL Richmondena cardinalis

DESCRIPTION: 4″-10″. Male—the only all red bird with a crest. Female—yellowish-brown with some red, also crested. Both sexes have a heavy red bill: however, immatures, which resembles females, have dark beaks.

PARK DISTRIBUTION: Introduced on several islands since 1929. Kilauea—Fairly common locally in the drier vegetated areas such as Kipuka Puaulu. Haleakala—Absent from the park.

VOICE: The song, which may be varied, is made up of a liquid whistled phrase usually repeated. Note: a sharp tik.

Visitors from the eastern states will recognize familiar birdcalls when a cardinal is nearby. They are usually rather shy birds here, so you will probably hear them first. Seeds, insects, and fruit make up the diet of these birds. They are often found in company with the red-billed leiothrix.

HOUSE FINCH Carpodacus mexicanus (also linnet or papaya bird)

DESCRIPTION: 5½″. Male—Grayish-brown with rosy red breast, forehead, stripe over eye, and rump. At Haleakala the color is more yellow than red. Female and Immature—Sparrowlike with a gray-brown back and dusky-white streaked breast. House finches have thick seed-eating bills.

PARK DISTRIBUTION: Introduced before 1870. Kilauea—very common in the drier sections of the park, especially along the Hilina Pali road and at Kipuka Puaulu. Haleakala—One of the commonest birds in the park both inside and out of the crater.