© 2024 Hawaiʻi Public Radio
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Scientists share sobering trends in the race to save Hawaiʻi forest birds

The ʻalawī, a small and unassuming member of the Hawaiian honeycreeper family, is endemic to the island of Hawai’i.
Jack Jeffrey
/
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
The ʻalawī, a small and unassuming member of the Hawaiian honeycreeper family, is endemic to the island of Hawai’i.

For the Year of the Forest Bird, we share some updated research on our threatened and endangered species. Did you know some of our native birds — manu Hawaiʻi — mainly survive on insects, while others prefer fruits and nuts and roots, or nectar?

The Conversation talked with Richard "Rick" Camp of the U.S. Geological Survey and Eldridge Naboa of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge.

Camp analyzed data about native forest birds on the Big Island over three decades. In the 1980s, numbers seemed encouraging. But looking closely at data from the last 10 years, the trend suggested a more troubling snapshot.

This interview aired on The Conversation on May 8, 2024. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1.

Catherine Cruz is the host of The Conversation. Originally from Guam, she spent more than 30 years at KITV, covering beats from government to education. Contact her at ccruz@hawaiipublicradio.org.
Related Stories