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© Zach Pezzillo / Maui Forest Bird Recovery Project
Kiwikiu, also known as Maui Parrotbill, used to be found all over Maui and Molokaʻi. Now, fewer than 150 individuals exist and kiwikiu are currently restricted to a tiny region of high elevation forest on the slopes of Haleakalā. A translocation effort to expand their range was unsuccessful due to the rapid spread of mosquito-borne avian malaria.
BirdNote®
Kiwikiu
Written by Jessie Eden
This is BirdNote.
[Kiwikiu calls, ML112593281]
The Hawaiian Islands are home to many birds that don’t exist anywhere else on earth. Native forest songbirds like kiwikiu, formerly called the Maui Parrotbill, once thrived on the islands. Now, they are critically endangered.
[Kiwikiu song, ML6077]
Kiwikiu co-evolved over millenia with the remarkable plants and insects in their unique island habitats. They are about the size of a sparrow with yellowish, olive-green feathers that blend into the foliage. The kiwikiu’s parrot-like bill is perfectly adapted to chisel, crack and tear apart bark in search of grubs. They sometimes enjoy flower nectar too.
Kiwikiu typically raise just one chick a year, and the parents will spend another year teaching their young how to forage with that distinctive bill.
[Kiwikiu calls, ML236867]
Like many of Maui’s native birds, kiwikiu have been devastated by avian malaria and other fatal diseases spread by invasive mosquitoes. These days, the tiny remaining kiwikiu population is restricted to less than 11 square miles of high elevation forests on the slopes of Haleakalā.
Habitat protection and mosquito control are crucial for conserving Hawaiʻi’s extraordinary ecosystems so birds like the kiwikiu can sing out from the forests for years to come.
[Kiwikiu song, ML6077]
For BirdNote, I’m Mark Bramhill.
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Senior Producer: Mark Bramhill
Producer: Sam Johnson
Managing Producer: Jazzi Johnson
Managing Producer: Ariana Remmel
Content Director: Jonese Franklin
Bird sounds provided by the Maui Forest Bird Recovery Project and The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Kiwikiu calls ML112593281, Kiwikiu calls ML236867, and Kiwikiu song ML6077 recorded by Tim Burr.
BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2025 BirdNote December 2025
Narrator: Mark Bramhill
ID# kiwikiu-01-2025-12-12 kiwikiu-01
Reference:
Out of respect for Hawaiian language and culture, we've included diacritical marks and capitalization conventions of ʻolelo Hawaiʻi. Hawaiian language convention does not capitalize bird names.
Jessie Eden
Writer