There are only five native ʻakikiki birds left in the wild. While some of the birds remain in protective captivity, they are likely to disappear from forests very soon.
Attempts to bring the final five into captivity have been suspended because the birds are currently molting, a yearly process of birds shedding all of their feathers.
Justin Hite of the Kauaʻi Forest Bird Recovery Project said capturing the birds while they molt may be too stressful and could lead to their demise.
Native to the upland mountains of Kauaʻi, rising temperatures from climate change have pushed one of their biggest threats — invasive mosquitoes carrying avian malaria —farther up into the ʻakikiki habitat.
The disease has decimated native bird populations over the years.
Patrick Hart, a University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo biologist and the host of HPR's Manu Minute, said the ʻakikiki are one of the earliest adapted radiations of the Hawaiian honeycreeper.
"It's been part of the landscape of Kauaʻi for probably 5 million years or so," Hart said. "Their voice has been part of this bird chorus," and soon the forests of Kauaʻi will be a little quieter.
There is some hope that their song will be heard in the wild again. The Kauaʻi Forest Bird Recovery Project has proposed using an incompatible insect technique to reduce mosquito populations.
The project would introduce male mosquitoes infected with a naturally occurring strain of Wolbachia bacteria. The strain would effectively leave female mosquitoes unable to reproduce, according to a draft environmental assessment.
The technique has been successfully and safely used in several countries and U.S. states. However, it would be the first time an IIT has been used for a conservation effort. The same technique will be used in Maui soon.
Pending regulatory approvals, IIT could begin on Kauaʻi as early as this fall. If successful, it could create a more compatible environment for native birds.
Although wild ʻakikiki will likely be extinct by then, birds in captive breeding programs could one day return to the wild.
Nearly half of the 73 endemic bird species and subspecies in Hawaiʻi have gone extinct since western colonization began in 1778. Thirty-three are listed as endangered, and nearly a dozen haven't been seen in decades and are likely extinct.
Three other native honeycreeper birds are likely to become extinct within the next three years.
"We have so few native birds left, every single one is a significant loss at this point in time," Hart said.
