Po`ouli Brought To Breeding Center in "Last Ditch" Effort to
Save Species

September 13, 2004
View video of the po'ouli.

One of the last of its species, a rare Hawaiian forest bird called the po'ouli Melamprosops phaeosoma was caught September 9, 2004 by a team of biologists and transported to the Maui Bird Conservation Center in Olinda the next morning. The bird is one of three individuals that represent the last of a species that once populated Hawaiian forests. The po'ouli are being caught and moved into a captive breeding center with the hopes that a captive management program will be able to save this species.

The decision to bring these last three birds into a captive breeding program was made in 2003 after repeated efforts to bring these individuals together in the wild had failed. Po'ouli are small birds that live in heavily forested areas, and the attempt to catch these individuals has proved a challenge in itself. The bird that was caught is the first one of its species to be removed from the wild.

"Saving the po`ouli is without a doubt a tremendous challenge," said Paul Henson, field supervisor for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Pacific Islands Fish and Wildlife office. "Our hopes and prayers go with this team into some of the roughest terrain in Hawaii. We have no guarantees we can save the species, but we have to try."

The stocky little bird with a black mask is part of the Hawaiian honeycreeper family, but so unique it occupies its own genus. It is the only Hawaiian forest bird to rely heavily on native tree snails as its food. Despite extensive searches, only three po'ouli—a male and two females—have been found in recent years, and all in separate home ranges.

The bird was caught by using a mist net (a fine mesh, almost invisible net) and was accompanied by an avian veterinarian during the move. "The protocol we followed was developed by the Maui Forest Bird Recovery Project staff," explained Michael Buck, administrator of Hawaii's Division of Forestry and Wildlife. "Although that effort did not result in a breeding pair, it was incredibly important for the knowledge it gave us regarding how a po`ouli may react to captivity. Thankfully, the female caught last year seemed to take it in stride."

The bird and veterinarian were flown by helicopter to the Maui Bird Conservation Center. The facility, like the Keauhou Bird Conservation Center on the Big Island of Hawaii, is operated by the San Diego Zoo's CRES.

"Establishing a breeding pair of po`ouli may be the most challenging task we've ever attempted," said Alan Lieberman, avian conservation coordinator for CRES's Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program. "We have successfully bred several Hawaiian bird species, including the `alala, puaiohi, and palila, and even reintroduced them into the wild, but to start off with only three birds, all of which are at least six years old, just increases the difficulties. We had hope these birds could be recovered in the wild. But now we're running out of time, and we're committed to this last-ditch effort to prevent their extinction."

The elusive po`ouli was not even discovered until 1973, when a group of University of Hawaii students conducting research on the east slope of Haleakala sighted a bird they had never seen before. It was named "po`ouli," which means "black head" in Hawaiian, by Mary Kawena Puku`i, a renowned authority on Hawaiian culture. It has a quiet song "like dripping water," according to biologists, making it much more difficult to hear than more vocal species such as the Maui parrotbill.

"Sadly, fossil records tell us that we already have lost 82 Hawaiian bird species, including 26 since Europeans first visited the islands," Paul Henson said. "Our challenge is to make every effort possible to save this unique piece of Hawaiian heritage. I believe the effort we are now beginning gives us the best remaining opportunity to do so."

More

Hawaiian Forest Bird Recovery
Read Zoo Blogs from Alan Lieberman, program director for the Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program
Po'ouli