Cattle Egret in Downtown Honolulu

I'm back from another long trip, this time across the Pacific Northwest, and Wi-Fi was hard to come by in the wilds we were exploring. But now I can continue our exploration of the birds of Hawai'i, and then move on to the Pacific Northwest species I was able to photograph during the last two weeks. Today's species is the Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) that I was able to shoot while strolling through a coastal park in downtown Honolulu.

The Cattle Egrets have an uncomfortable history with Hawai'i. They originated in Africa, spread to north and south America, and were introduced for pest control purposes in Hawai'i in 1959. They did their job, inhabiting pastures and fields, picking off flies and other biting pests. But as agriculture has decreased, and interest in preserving the native species increases, the Cattle Egrets have become a problem, as they compete for food resources, and pick off the eggs and chicks of native species on the islands, especially the Stilts and Coots.

The Piha `Ekelo or Manu `Aipilau ("Trash-eating Bird", "Full of Voice"), the Common Myna of Hawai'i

It is quite literally the first bird you will see as you emerge from the airplane when you land anywhere in the Hawaiian Islands. They certainly look tropical and exotic at first, but as you go along in your travels, you will realize that they are ubiquitous, found in nearly every environment, whether in coastal areas, or high into the island interiors. They are known to the Hawaiians as the piha `ekelo (full of voice) and manu`aipilau (trash-eating bird). The biologists call it the Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis tristis).

The birds arrived at the islands in 1866 (most sources say 1865) to fight an infestation of cutworm moths. The effort was successful, but once the moths were gone, the birds went on to other food sources of all kinds. They have been castigated for spreading avian diseases, stealing nesting sites from native birds, predating seabird nests, and for having a call that resembles fighting cats. They've also been accused of burning down buildings (by snatching lit cigarettes and flying away with them). On the other hand, they are intelligent and can be comical to watch.

Through no fault of their own, European Starlings were introduced in North America, and spread to dominate environments all over the continent. I was surprised to find that the mynas are in the starling family, and so their story in Hawai'i seems all too familiar.

Land of the Lost, the Birds of Hawaii: A Blog Series

Hawai'i is one of the most isolated landmasses on planet Earth. Surrounded by thousands of miles of open water, it's kind of amazing that any animals or plants thrive there at all. Instead, the islands have an incredibly diverse and complex ecosystem. Most of the endemic species in the United States occur on these small islands (endemic species are those that are found nowhere else in the world) . When plants and insects are included, the number of species are in the thousands.

How did all these species get here? The answer is...strange. They didn't all get here. A few of them got here, and the survivors changed and evolved into new species better adapted to the new environment they faced on the islands. Hawaii as a laboratory for evolution is in many ways the equal of the more famous (to biologists and geologists) Galapagos Islands.

Hawaii truly is the land of the lost. The animals that reached these islands prior to human colonization were blown off course and somehow survived a harrowing journey of several thousand miles over the unforgiving sea. Millions of birds of birds have become lost over the oceans through the endless years, and only a vanishingly small percentage are ever lucky enough to make landfall. The rest perish. By one estimate I've seen, a new bird species arrives by natural processes only once every 20,000 years.

The birds of Hawai'i were one of the nicest discoveries of my six visits to the islands. I can point to my Hawaiian experiences as the beginning of my interest in birding. I find their stories to be fascinating, and I am looking forward to seeking them out again. I'll have a chance (and so will you) next summer, as we will be offering a field studies course on the islands from June 1-14, 2016. To celebrate the coming trip (and I guess to celebrate one year of bird blogging), I'm going to be offering a series of posts on the birds of Hawaii, both the native species and some of the interesting invaders as well.

It being my habit to be easily distracted, the series will be off and on as I get the time. I hope you'll enjoy! Aloha!