Manu Minute: The Royal ‘Io

By Patrick Hart,

Ann Tanimoto-Johnson, Savannah Harriman-Pote

Published June 30, 2021 at 2:40 PM HST

Ways To Subscribe

1 of 2 — 'Io have two main color morphs, but are considered the same species. The dark morph 'io are dark brown in color with slightly lighter coloration under in their tail and under their wings. Photo credit: Ann Tanimoto-Johnson

'Io have two main color morphs, but are considered the same species. The dark morph 'Io are dark brown in color with slightly lighter coloration under in their tail and under their wings.

2 of 2 — The light morph is mainly cream-colored with darker wings and sometimes dark coloration in their tails. Photo credit: Ann Tanimoto-Johnson

The 'io is the only endemic hawk found in Hawai'i. While fossil records show that 'io once occupied nearly all of the Hawaiian islands, the only remaining established populations are on the Big Island.

'Io occupy large territories from sea level to over 10,000 feet in elevation. They are opportunistic predators that feed on invasive rodents. But as these mammal-based meals were few and far between prior to the arrival of humans in the Hawaiian islands — with the exception of the Hawaiian hoary bat — 'io also hunt both native and introduced birds.

Just last year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service removed the 'io from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife.

Manu Minute, Io Spectrogram Video.mp4

Audio credit: Doug Pratt/Macaulay Library at the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology (ML5197)