Hawaii Forest Blog
Diamonds, jewels, points of light
What makes the sky so different tonight?
Something has changed, pray not my sight.
No, nothing so wrong to cause me fright....
Kamehameha had inherited the longstanding feud with Maui that had already existed at the time of his birth. After 1791, Mauiâs ruling chief, Kahekili, fiercely contested Kamehamehaâs rulership. One day, when Kamehameha was at work to secure peace at Laupahoehoe on the east side of the island, rumors reached him that Kahekili had sent an army to...
Who hasnât heard the name? The story of King Kamehameha infuses the legends of Hawaii. Each year, on June 11, Hawaii celebrates Kamehamehaâs birthday with colorful parades and flower lei. But while we all agree that this fierce leader unified the islands under his rule, in 1810, few today will ever really know the entire story of his life, espe...
With its complex, melodious warble and loud chatter call, mostly olive-green feathered, and just six inches in size, red-billed leiothrix is a pretty and attractive bird. You canât miss its bright-yellow throat, its bright-red bill, the colored edges of its wings, maybe even the yellowish ring around its eyes. Itâs sometimes called Peking (Peki...
Found on all continents except Antarctica, and regularly seen on all Hawaiian islands, the common barn owl is often confused with Hawaiiâs smaller-sized native short-eared owl, pueo. But barn owls are light in color. They are most active during dusk and nightfall. Their white face is more heart-shaped than pueoâs. Nesting preferably in the holl...
Thought to have settled in shortly after the first Polynesians came to Hawaiâi, which may have been around 300 A.D., brown-feathered pueo has flown its own course ever since. It is considered endemic, found only in the islands, as a subspecies to the ubiquitous short-eared owl. Polynesians brought with them the islandsâ first rats, which has le...
A cosmopolitan amid Hawaiiâs birds, standing tall and graceful, the white-plumaged cattle egret has been recorded in Iceland, Belgium, and Egypt. Native to Africa and Asia, itâs established on all the continents except for Antarctica. And all this travel has occurred by the power of its own flight. Young herons have been found well over 3,000 m...
Listen for the clear and varied song of this passerine bird, because you may not easily see it. Shy, it isnât easily approached. Just 8 to 9.5 inches in size, with fairly plain rusty-brown plumage marked by darker streaks, it doesnât stand out until you hear its beautiful, repetitive call. Hwamei does have one distinct feature, though, a white ...
Wisps of smoke-gray, pale-brown, and soft yellow intersect the dusky-green plumage of the Japanese white-eye. The clear, light voice of this small perching bird seldom sings alone. Mejiro (the Japanese word means âwhite-eyeâ and refers to the white ring around the eyes) is a sociable creature, and forages in teams. Itâs a charming little thin...
A flash of glossy indigo. Vermillion-rimmed eyes. A streak of drab, rustling in the brush grass, a short, clumsy flight to a nearby shrub. You may just have seen or heard a black-plumaged male or brown-feathered female kalij. Theyâre chubby birds, about two to three feet in size....
Among the most endangered birds in the world are the native birds of Hawaii. Amid them soars the graceful io, the Hawaiian hawk, once a powerful symbol of Hawaiian royalty. Although the islands were once home to eagles, harriers, and several other hawks, only io managed to survive among birds of prey. You may have seen it diving from the sky, focus...
With exquisite fragrance in the blossoms, glorious spice in the roots, and multiple powers as medicine, gingers have been favorite plants for millennia, worldwide. Comprising perennial herbs packed with aromatic oils, the overall ginger family (Zingiberaceae) is large and complex. Counting an estimated 700 to 1000 species, gingerâs myriad nuances...
