On my recent trip to Kaua’i, I spotted more birds than several of my visits to Maui. This could be due to the large number of roaming Red Junglefowl, or that once I started looking, I couldn’t stop. Of all the birds I did notice, it seems a majority were brought here over the past hundreds of years- likely as pets and stowaways. Unfortunately, I didn’t get great pictures of all the ones I liked and I never saw a Brown Booby nor a Pueo (I wonder if they get hungover on Kaua’i).
![Red-crested Cardinal](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3043/5834992543_4f610f7e72.jpg)
A Red-Crested Cardinal. He’s trying to help me out and still I can’t seem to focus quite fast enough. Lucky for me, I found a man with a net who picked a few fresh mangos from the tree. No eating off the ground for this chick.
![Gonna guess Finch or Papya Bird](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2617/5835546378_b43bb504da.jpg)
Gonna guess Finch or Papya Bird. Came to Hawaii in the 1800’s, likely as escaped pets. Saw a few of these near Lihue and on my drive to Waimea Canyon.
![Nene Xing](http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5196/5834990907_e007f97234.jpg)
Nene Xing. Nene spotted in a refuge originally set aside to protect the Koloa Maoli (Hawaiian Duck). [fisheye lensbaby
![Love Birds love birds](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2620/5834991347_49400eeed8.jpg)
Love Birds. The Nene is monomorphic- with male & female being nearly identical with the exception that the male is somewhat larger.
![walk like an egyptian](http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5025/5835545324_8920df2fd4.jpg)
Walk Like an Egyptian. The Nene was aggressively hunted in the 1800s but is now increasing in numbers thanks to captive propagation. Check out the bracelet.
![Red Junglefowl](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3086/5834992767_fc5a9c314b.jpg)
Red Junglefowl. aka: roosters. and apparently Hawaii’s first introduced species, being brought over by the Polynesians over 700 yrs ago.
In my searching to find out some of these birds & their histories, I stumbled across 2 fabulous resources- enjoy.
- A local’s page of Hawaiian Birds
- Kaua’i Birds