I recently wrote about Hawaiian honeycreepers, endemic birds to these Pacific islands that have struggled for survival due to the destruction of their habitats and, more recently, climate change. Several cling to survival, but most species in this diverse family of birds have gone extinct. But there is another family of endemic birds, the monarch flycatchers, that have fortunately fared better over the millennium that Hawaii has shared its landscape with mankind.
Monarch flycatchers are Old World passerine birds that populate sub-Sahara Africa, Southeast Asia, Australasia and some Pacific Islands. The Hawaiian birds in the family make up their own genus, chasiempis. And the three islands they inhabit are also the unique homes of the three separate endemic species in the genus: the Oahu 'elepaio, the Hawaii 'elepaio, and the Kauai 'elepaio.
The three species of 'elepaios seem to have a greater immunity to the mosquito-born diseases that have decimated the honeycreeper populations over the last two centuries. As a result many are still quite common at higher elevations and over diverse habitats that range from tropical rain forests to dry grasslands.
The 'elepaio is bold and curious, and it was easy to encounter the Kauaian species on several trails in Koke'e State Park this past September. As befitting such a human-friendly bird, there is quite a bit written about it. For one, it is the first native bird to sing in the morning, and it is the last at night.
Native canoe-builders considered the 'elepaios guardian spirits as they followed the Hawaiians through the forests as they searched for suitable trees to fell for material. They avoided the hole-riddled trunks the birds pecked for insects, and in turn were attracted to the unblemished, sounder ones the birds avoided.
As I started hunting for honeycreepers in the park, I followed the Pihea Trail beyond the Pu'u O Kila Lookout. It wasn't long before I found a friendly juvenile Kauai 'elepaio close by in a tree. Plainly cinnamon-colored, the bird was happily foraging for insects not too high up.
Later on, I'd find a couple of adults on trails off Kokee Road or Highway 550, on the Kaluapuhi and Awa'awapuhi Trails. In a couple shots from the first trail, the 'elepaio seemed to intently look at me from the shadows as I fumbled to stop up the aperture on my camera to improve the picture's lighting.
It's almost as if the bird is posing, staring, waiting ... mirroring this birdwatcher's own intensive curiosity. But it's much more patient and calm, less frantic, than I am as it appears to have all the time in the world. In fact on both Kauai and the big island of Hawaii, the 'elepaio is holding on and is not endangered. Unfortunately, however, Oahu's native species is.
Monarch flycatchers are Old World passerine birds that populate sub-Sahara Africa, Southeast Asia, Australasia and some Pacific Islands. The Hawaiian birds in the family make up their own genus, chasiempis. And the three islands they inhabit are also the unique homes of the three separate endemic species in the genus: the Oahu 'elepaio, the Hawaii 'elepaio, and the Kauai 'elepaio.
The three species of 'elepaios seem to have a greater immunity to the mosquito-born diseases that have decimated the honeycreeper populations over the last two centuries. As a result many are still quite common at higher elevations and over diverse habitats that range from tropical rain forests to dry grasslands.
The 'elepaio is bold and curious, and it was easy to encounter the Kauaian species on several trails in Koke'e State Park this past September. As befitting such a human-friendly bird, there is quite a bit written about it. For one, it is the first native bird to sing in the morning, and it is the last at night.
Native canoe-builders considered the 'elepaios guardian spirits as they followed the Hawaiians through the forests as they searched for suitable trees to fell for material. They avoided the hole-riddled trunks the birds pecked for insects, and in turn were attracted to the unblemished, sounder ones the birds avoided.
As I started hunting for honeycreepers in the park, I followed the Pihea Trail beyond the Pu'u O Kila Lookout. It wasn't long before I found a friendly juvenile Kauai 'elepaio close by in a tree. Plainly cinnamon-colored, the bird was happily foraging for insects not too high up.
Later on, I'd find a couple of adults on trails off Kokee Road or Highway 550, on the Kaluapuhi and Awa'awapuhi Trails. In a couple shots from the first trail, the 'elepaio seemed to intently look at me from the shadows as I fumbled to stop up the aperture on my camera to improve the picture's lighting.
It's almost as if the bird is posing, staring, waiting ... mirroring this birdwatcher's own intensive curiosity. But it's much more patient and calm, less frantic, than I am as it appears to have all the time in the world. In fact on both Kauai and the big island of Hawaii, the 'elepaio is holding on and is not endangered. Unfortunately, however, Oahu's native species is.
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