Big Island Birding Part 3 – Hawaiian Endemics & Other Fun Stuff

Here’s Part 3 of our Big Island Birding series — we saved the best for last! In this post, we’ll explore the remainder of the birds we enjoyed in Hawai‘i over New Year’s 2023, including several endemics and other fun encounters.
 
First up is Hawai‘i’s state bird, the beloved Nēnē (Hawaiian Goose). Nearly extinct by the 1950s, conservation efforts have successfully increased the species’ numbers on the Hawaiian islands. Still, with only about 2,500 birds in existence, the Nēnē is the rarest goose species in the world.

While driving the main road through Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, the sight of a pair walking across the lawn of the Kīlauea Military Camp stopped us in our tracks.

While on the western Kona side of Hawai‘i, we ventured up to Honua‘ula Forest Reserve for a hike. Upon stepping out of the car, this incredible soundscape greeted us.

The canopy was downright crawling with a native species called the ‘Apapane, and we discovered they were making the majority of the varied vocalizations.

These vibrant red honeycreepers foraged voraciously in the tops of ʻōhiʻa lehua trees, sipping nectar from the flowers. Can you spot the ‘Apapane below?

We just love their high-contrast color scheme — a vivid combo of red, black and white.

Also present in smaller numbers was the Hawai‘i ‘Amakihi, another endemic species.

As you can see, this bright greenish-yellow honeycreeper blended in well with the foliage. We recorded one of the ʻAmakihi’s calls, which to us has a similar quality to a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher.

Here’s a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher we’ve recorded for comparison.

Easily the most spectacular of the endemic honeycreepers in Hawai‘i is the ‘I‘iwi. With its bright-red plumage and giant decurved pinkish bill, the ‘I‘iwi is an absolute show-stopper. We didn’t know if this bird would be difficult to locate or not, so imagine our delight at encountering multiples at one of our birding stops — Kaulana Manu Nature Trail (aka Kīpuka 21).
 
Disappointingly, here’s the best photograph we got of this incredible bird… so, please click here to check out photos of the striking ‘I‘iwi from The Macaulay Library.

This funny ‘I‘iwi call sounds like a train-whistle to us — listen below.

The ‘Ōma‘o is a fruit-eating thrush endemic to only the Big Island of Hawai‘i, so we felt thrilled to encounter this beautiful but unassuming species several times.

The ‘Ōma‘o’s muted gray color made it difficult to spot within the more shadowy and canopied forest areas, particularly when the bird was perched motionless.

However, the explosive, gurgly song of the ‘Ōma‘o assisted in triangulating a perched bird’s whereabouts. Listen below for the song starting at 0:05 seconds.

In Hawai‘i, only one endemic hawk exists — the ‘Io (aka Hawaiian Hawk). Coming from Northern California where we routinely see kettles of 20 Turkey Vultures swirling in the sky — the absence of large, soaring birds in Hawai‘i is starkly apparent.
 
We got lucky and glimpsed this magnificent hawk a couple times. The ‘Io is within the Buteo genus (Buteo solitarius) making it a cousin of our ubiquitous Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis), and you can see the similarity of its soaring silhouette.

At Kaloko Honokōhau National Historical Park, we spied a familiar sight at one of the fishponds — a coot! To be exact though, it was an endemic Hawaiian Coot, known natively as the ‘Alae ke‘oke‘o.

The Hawaiian Coot is visually similar to the American Coot, differing primarily in its slightly smaller size and larger white forehead shield.

The most stunning bird sighting of our trip was this Koa‘e kea (aka White-tailed Tropicbird) soaring over a steaming volcano at the Kīlauea Overlook in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. Quite the dramatic scene!

These elegant pelagic seabirds forage for fish and squid in the ocean, and sometimes nest on the steep walls and cliffs of Kīlauea Crater.

Next up is one of our favorites — the Hawai‘i ‘Elepaio, a small flycatcher native to the Big Island.

We encountered this charming bird along the Kīpukapuaulu Trail in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. In a quiet section of forest, we observed this little sprite of a bird dancing from branch to branch, back and forth across the trail as it foraged.

Listen below to a call the Hawai‘i ‘Elepaio repeated while it foraged busily.

In Hawaiian mythology, canoe-makers revered the ‘Elepaio as an ‘aumakua (an ancestral spirit) and relied upon the species to show them which koa trees to use for canoes. An ‘Elepaio pecking at a tree highlighted the presence of insects, and therefore indicated an unsuitability of the wood for canoe-making.

Though not endemic, an interesting bird we spotted along Kīpukapuaulu Trail was the Red-billed Leiothrix. A popular caged bird native to southern China and the Himalayas, the Red-billed Leiothrix was introduced to the Hawaiian Islands in the early 1900s.
 
We heard the vocalizations of this secretive bird long before finally catching a brief glimpse as it appeared and disappeared in the understory. What delightful pops of colors it displays!

Another introduced species we spotted in the understory of Kīpukapuaulu Trail was the Kalij Pheasant, a game bird brought over to Hawai‘i from Asia in 1962 for hunting purposes.

These pheasants were fairly easy to detect once we clued in to their calls (a mix of squeals and grunts), and we enjoyed close looks at a couple birds foraging along the forest floor.

Check out this fascinating National Audubon Society article detailing how the breeding behavior of Hawai‘i’s population of Kalij Pheasants has diverged completely from that of the native Asian birds: How Hawaii’s Kalij Pheasants Remind Us That Social Behavior Can Be Flexible

Our final non-native-but-interesting species of this post is the Erckel’s Spurfowl (also known as Erckel’s Francolin). Native to Ethiopia and Sudan, the Erckel’s Spurfowl was another species introduced to Hawai‘i as a game bird.

Similar to our beloved California Quail, the Erckel’s Spurfowl prefers to run away rather than fly. As we slowly drove by, this individual below proved this sentiment true and hightailed it down the road!

At one point, we managed to creep by so slowly that we were able to view the gorgeous detailing of this beautiful partridge’s breast feathers.

That’s a wrap! We hope you enjoyed our Big Island Birding series — in case you missed Parts 1 and 2, check them out here:
 
Big Island Birding Part 1 – Town & Abundant Birds
 
Big Island Birding Part 2 – Familiar Favorites