BirdNote; State of the Birds on Kauai

BirdNote®

The State of the Birds on Kauai

This story aired in May 2010

Written by Bob Sundstrom

This is BirdNote!

[A bit of slack key guitar music]

Hawaii, oh, what a paradise it seems. [Continue guitar music] But something vital is missing.

The native birds of Hawaii, like birds of many island groups, have been hit hard by human-induced changes. Throughout the world, loss of native habitat and introduction of non-native species have taken a drastic toll on the native plants and animals of islands. Sadly, the Hawaiian island of Kauai is no exception.

[Kauai O’o song and Hawaiian forest background sounds]

The Kauai O’o, a forest bird, has not been seen in 20 years. Its bell-like song once rang widely through the mist-shrouded rainforest. [Kauai O’o song] Today, the decline of native birds on the island of Kauai is the focus of deep concern. The nationally acclaimed report The State of the Birds USA documents that many are endangered. A likely cause for the conspicuous decline of nearly all Kauai’s native forest birds is mosquito-borne disease. Feral pigs make the problem worse. They create wallows in the forest in which mosquitoes breed. Both pigs and mosquitoes are non-native invaders, creating unintended consequences.

[Hawaiian forest background sounds] All of which makes the loss of the Kauai O’o’s enchanting voice so poignant.

[Kauai O’o song]

For more on the challenges facing Hawaii's birds and how you can help, come to our website, birdnote.org. I’m Mary McCann.

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Call of the Kauai O’o provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Recorded by R.J. Shallenberger.

Musical selection “No Ke Ano Ahiahi” from Masters of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar, Vol. 2, Live from Maui, www.DanielHo.com

Producer: John Kessler

Executive Producer: Chris Peterson

© 2010 Tune In to Nature.org MM

ID# SotB-Hawaii-01

More about American Bird Conservancy’s work on Kauai here: https://abcbirds.org/?s=kauai