New hope for Critically Endangered 'Kiwikiu'
A group of Maui Parrotbills – of which fewer then 300 are thought to remain in the wild – has been rediscovered after it was thought the birds had died.
In an attempt to help the Critically Endangered 'Kiwikiu', seven of the birds were translocated to Maui's Nakula Natural Area Reserve in October 2019. However, an epidemic of avian malaria transmitted by non-native mosquitos killed five of them. The remaining two were assumed dead – until last Wednesday [27 July 2021].
Fewer than 300 Maui Parrotbills remain in the wild (Andrew Smith / Flickr).
Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources researcher Zach Pezzillo was at the Haleakalā volcano-based reserve when he heard one of the parrotbills singing in the distance. "I first heard what I thought might be a distant Kiwikiu song. It then sang about 10 times across a gulch in some koa trees."
"It dropped down into some kolea trees where it spent the next 20 minutes calling and actively foraging through the berries, bark and leaves," he said. Taking a closer look, Pezzillo was able to confirm that the bird was one of the previously translocated Maui Parrotbills thanks to a ring on its leg.
Maui Parrotbill is one of the larger Hawaiian honeycreepers, favouring undisturbed wet forests dominated by Metrosideros polymorpha and small patches of Acacia koa, with a dense understory of small trees, shrubs, epiphytes, ferns and sedges. Its territory is limited, ranging between Pu'u 'Alaea, Kuhiwa Valley, Lake Waianapanapa, and upper Kīpahulu Valley – an area less than 2,020 ha – and at elevations of 1,310-2,070 m.
Much of the land in the parrotbill's historic range was changed for agricultural purposes, timber production and animal grazing. Introduced pests, such as mosquitoes, rats, and feral ungulates directly and indirectly affect the parrotbill's survival. Mosquitoes spread avian malaria, which the parrotbill is susceptible to, rats prey upon the birds' eggs and young and feral pigs uproot the low-lying vegetation that the parrotbill forages in. Pigs additionally create wallows, which serve as breeding grounds for avian malaria-infected mosquitoes.