Hawaiian Honeycreeper Conservation 1

The evolution of Hawaiian honeycreepers is an outstanding example of how the Hawaiian islands became home to many species of unique life. About three million years ago, it is suspected a storm from North America led a small flock of finches to Hawaii. These new colonists touched down in a land with many different environments, many different types of food, and few competitors. They spread out over the islands and began evolving in different ways. Some developed long, curved bills to extract nectar from flowers, and others evolved short, stout bills for crushing hard seeds.

When Polynesians voyagers arrived millions of years later they found over fifty unique species and subspecies of honeycreepers – all descended from that one original group. Then in 1826, the first mosquitoes arrived in Hawaii aboard a whaling ship beginning the spread of avian malaria to native birds…

In these two videos you will follow scientists as they learn how the endemic ‘Amakihi is bucking the extinction trend through evolution.
Part Two – Hawaiian Honeycreeper Conservation 2