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The Endangered 'Akiapōlā'au
A rare Hawaiian bird with a totally unique bill
© Bret Mossman
The 'Akiapōlā'au is a bright yellow bird with a black eye mask, found only in the upper elevations on the Big Island of Hawai'i. But its most distinct feature is its totally unique, uneven bill. The top of the bill is long, skinny, and curved like a sickle. Once abundant, habitat loss and disease from mosquitoes has taken a toll on the 'Akiapōlā'au population. In a race against extinction, people are working to restore habitat and control deadly invasive species to save Hawai'i’s rarest birds.
BirdNote®
The Endangered 'Akiapōlā'au
Written by Jessie Eden
This is BirdNote.
['Akiapōlā'au calls]
The 'Akiapōlā'au is a bright yellow bird with a black eye mask, found exclusively in the upper elevations on the Big Island of Hawai'i. But its most distinct feature is its totally unique, uneven bill. The bottom half looks typical. But the top half is skinny and nearly twice as long, curved downward like a sickle to a sharp point.
Like other honeycreepers, a family of birds found only in Hawai'i, the endangered 'Akiapōlā'au has evolved a specialized niche in their Hawaiian forest homes. That funky bill is superbly adapted to drilling into trees for food.
With a foraging style similar to woodpeckers, 'Akiapōlā'au make holes in trees with the stout, lower portion of their bill. With the upper, more delicate curved part of their bill, they pry at insects and larvae. 'Akiapōlā'au parents typically raise only one offspring a year – and often stay with their young for up to five months.
['Akiapōlā'au calls]
'Akiapōlā'au were once abundant – but habitat loss and disease from mosquitoes has taken a toll on their population. In a race against extinction, people are working to restore habitat and control deadly invasive species so that Hawai'i’s rarest birds, like the 'Akiapōlā'au, have a future in their remote island homes.
['Akiapōlā'au calls]
For BirdNote, I’m Jessie Eden.
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Senior Producer: John Kessler
Producer: Mark Bramhill
Managing Editor: Jazzi Johnson
Managing Producer: Conor Gearin
Pu'u Maka'ala Natural Area Reserve recording by Jessie Eden.
'Akiapōlā'au Xeno Canto 124801 recorded by Brooks Rownd, and 'Akiapōlā'au Xeno Canto 144826 recorded by Eric VanderWerf.
BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2023 BirdNote February 2023
Narrator: Jessie Eden
ID# AKIA-03-2023-06-16 AKIA-03
