Environmental close-up 4; Restoring palila and other Hawaiian forest birds: understanding problems and developing solutions

Author:

Banko, Paul C.

Title:

Environmental close-up 4; Restoring palila and other Hawaiian forest birds: understanding problems and developing solutions

Periodical:

Hawaii: the ecotraveller's wildlife guide

Year:

2000

Pages:

p. 158-162

Subject:

Palila Hawaiian honeycreepers Drepanididae Mamane Endangered species birds Sophora chrysophylla Loxioides bailleui Birds conservation Hawaii Island Birds ecology Birds habitat Hawaii Island Introduced species

Summary:

The Palila (Loxioides bailleui) a finch-billed Hawaiian honeycreeper that relies primarily on the immature seeds of the Mamane (Sophora chrysophylla) trees, provides an example of the difficulty of restoring an endemic forest bird that has suffered from human activity. Palila have become dangerously restricted to the upper slopes of Mauna Kea, where the population is increasingly concentrated on the western slope due to factors including: exposure to avian malaria and pox at the lower limits of its historical range where mosquitoes occur; predation by feral house cats and introduced rats; habitat destruction and alteration by feral cattle, sheep, goats, and introduced game animals, which eat Mamane seedlings and strip foliage from the lower branches of trees; and threats to important insect foods (such as caterpillars) by parasitic wasps and flies which were introduced to control modern agricultural pests (themselves introduced).

Collection:

Monographs