Hawaiian Bird Photographer Jack Jeffrey
Jack Jeffrey has been studying and photographing Hawaii’s endemic birds for over thirty years. As a long time resident of the Big Island, a wildlife biologist, and a photographer, Jack Jeffrey, is intimately familiar with Hawaii’s hidden valleys, remote rain forests and rare birds. He combines a naturalist’s curiosity with a photographer’s patience and technical skill to produce beautiful images. Photographing Hawaii’s native forest birds in the wild is no easy matter. For some species, with very small populations, seeing the bird is next to impossible, never mind trying photographing it.
Publications that have featured his work include: Audubon Magazine, Smithsonian, Life, Natural History, Birders World, National Wildlife, Pacific Discovery, Defenders of Wildlife, Science, National Park, the National Geographic Canon Endangered Species Series, as well as numerous books, and calendars.
“Many of Hawaii’s birds are on the brink of extinction. I’d hate to think that I’m only recording images of these magnificent creatures for posterity. I’d rather believe that through my photography, I am providing an emotional link between humanity and the birds. If I do what I love… my passion…I feel that I’m doing my best to ensure that Hawaii’s people, and visitors from around the world, will continue to have opportunities to enjoy these colorful forest treasures for many generations to come.”
Hawaiian Birds and ‘O’u Conservation
The ‘O’u is a Hawaiian Honeycreeper that has been federally listed as endangered since 1967. With the last published sighting on Kauai in 1989, it is now quite possibly extinct. Distribution has been shrinking since 1900s, disappearing from Oahu by 1899, Maui by 1901, Molokai by 1907, and Lanai by 1931. On Kauai and Hawaii, ‘O’u (Psittirostra psittacea) are thought to persist in a fraction of its former range. Their range has contracted from low-elevation habitat since the first specimens were collected near sea level in 1779. The most recent range estimate is high elevation forests on windward Hawaii and in the Alaka‘i Swamp on Kauai.
Hurricanes such as ‘Iwa (1982) and ‘Iniki (1992), which struck Kauai, can eliminate all fruit and foliage in certain areas, causing widespread starvation or movement to lower elevations, thus resulting in exposure to avian disease. Introduced avian diseases are widely considered one of foremost causes of forest bird extinction in Hawaiian Islands. Introduced mosquitoes transmit avian malaria that is limiting populations of low-elevation native birds.
Feral house cats and rats are known to depredate ‘O’u and other Hawaiian forest bird populations through nest predation. Birds that may have preyed on ‘O’u include a bird-eating owl (Grallistrix auceps), the Hawaiian Hawk (Buteo solitarius), Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus sandwichensis) and the introduced Barn Owl (Tyto alba).
Hawaiian Birds and ‘O’u Breeding
The preferred habitat of the ‘O’u on Kauai is a wet, dense ‘ohi‘a and ‘olapa dominated forest with native understory and dense growth. Hurricanes severely damaged large areas of Alaka‘i Swamp in 1982 and 1992, blowing down large trees and opening up the canopy. ‘O’u move up and down in elevation to exploit various native and introduced foods. Native fruits include those of various lobelioids, ‘olapa, mamaki, kawa‘u, alani, ‘ohi‘a ha, and a preference for fruits from ‘ie‘ie vine. Their bill is adapted for foraging on ‘ie‘ie, with a longer upper mandible that curves over tip of lower mandible, so they can thrust their bill deeply into inflorescence and extract component parts. Introduced fruits include mountain apple, guava, banana, peach, orange, and paper mulberry. They also forage on kukui, ‘ohi‘a nectar, and caterpillars.
The song of the ‘O’u is a repetitious series of whistles and trills, preceded by 3 to 4 loud, clearly whistled notes. The syllables of song are clear whistles of varying length including upslurred, downslurred, and even-pitched whistles of various frequencies. Each syllable is usually repeated 2–5 times, and an occasional ascending, descending, or even-pitched trill is included.
Two types of calls: upslurred and downslurred. Upslurred call is more common. Downslurred call is a melancholic pure whistle of varying length. Upslurred call is a pure tonal whistle of variable length. The male sings occasionally throughout year, but singing peaks immediately before onset of breeding season. Vocal repertoire of most Hawaiian honeycreepers suggests that females produce whisper songs and other vocalizations. Most male Hawaiian honeycreepers defend a moving territory around female, and songs or calls play an important role in this defense.
Hawaiian Birds and ‘O’u
The ‘O’u is a plump, predominantly olive green, thick-billed Hawaiian honeycreeper. It is now very rare and restricted to remote, high-elevation native forest on the Big Island and Kauai. The ‘O’u (Psittirostra psittacea) was one of the most common Hawaiian honeycreepers during the early period of ornithological exploration from 1789 to 1900, and existed on the islands of Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Maui, Lanai, and Hawaii.
The naturalist aboard Captain James Cook’s ship collected ‘O’u specimens when Europeans first visited the Hawaiian Islands in 1779, thus making it one of the first Hawaiian forest birds to be described by taxonomists. From before European contact through the early 1900s, Hawaiians collected ‘O’u for their olive-green plumage for use in feather work worn by royalty. Ironically, what was once one of the most common and widespread of Hawaiian birds is now so scarce that its continued existence is in question.
It is medium-sized, plump, olive green, with a heavy, pink, parrotlike bill, and pale legs. Its habit of perching horizontally on branches, tail slightly raised, accentuates its heavy body, giving it a pot-bellied appearance. The adult male is distinguished by a bright yellow head, olive green back, olive gray breast, and longer, heavily hooked bill. Female and immatures are smaller, uniform dull olive green above, paler gray olive below, with shorter, less hooked bill.
Hawaiian Birds and ‘Anianiau Conservation
The ʻAnianiau were previously found in all forests of Kauai, but the range has contracted by about 85%. Their population has also declined significantly in past 100 years with estimates in 1983 at 24,000. Habitat loss or degradation, and invasion by non-native plants are the most significant threats to this Hawaiian bird.
Past human activity has also adversely affected ‘Anianiau (Magumma parva) indirectly through introduced goats (Capra hircus), mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), and pigs (Sus scrofa). Pigs also contribute to spread of mosquitoes by creating breeding sites with their wallows and the hollowed-out tree fern trunks left over after pigs eat the starchy interior (which then fill with rainwater and form small pools). Other negative consequences are introduced rats, cats, and Barn Owls as predators. The spread of disease-carrying mosquitoes into native forests, and the possible accidental introduction of a cold-tolerant mosquito species probably poses greatest long-term threat to survival.
‘Anianiau appears to tolerate habitat disturbance better than many other Hawaiian honeycreepers, and uses a few alien plants for food, but long-term survival likely still depends on preservation of large tracts of undisturbed native forest. For the moment, ʻAnianiau are protected in the Alakai Wilderness Preserve and surrounding environs as well as Waimea Canyon and Koke’e State Parks. Efforts to restore native forest habitats and eradicate harmful plants and animals are valuable, but preventing further damage is essential.
Hawaiian Birds and ‘Anianiau Breeding
The Hawaiian honeycreeper ‘Anianiau occurs in rugged montane forests from 2000 feet to the highest point of the Hawaiian island. Most common trees in these forests are ‘ohi‘a, koa, ‘olapa, and lapalapa. The ‘Anianiau (Magumma parva) forages mainly on the nectar from flowers of ‘ohi‘a trees, ‘ohelo, and ‘alani. The sides of its brushy-tipped tongue are rolled up to form tube to lap up nectar. It uses its bill to pierce flowers with long corollas (haha‘aiakamanu, ‘ohe naupaka, banana poka) at the base to allow access to nectar. It also captures arthropods by gleaning them from leaves and twigs. Arthropod consumption of caterpillars and spiders probably increases when feeding their young.
Both male and female participate in nest construction which takes 4 to 5 days for the outer shell and 2 to 3 days for the inner lining. It is usually located in the crown of ‘ohi‘a trees, composed of mosses, lichens, ‘ohi‘a leaves and twigs, pukiawe twigs, bark strips, grass and sedge fibers, and rootlets. Median clutch size is 3 eggs. All incubation is done by the female, lasting about 14 days, and the male regularly feeds female off nest during this time.
Like other Hawaiian honeycreepers, males probably begin to sing by spring of first year. Their song is a sweet, high-pitched trill, with individual repeated elements like – weesee-weesee-weesee-weesee or weesity-weesity-weesity-weesity – that drops to a lower pitch two-thirds of the way through song. Simpler trilling songs are given by Kaua‘i ‘Amakihi, ‘Akeke‘e, and ‘Akikiki. ‘Anianiau also have extended, soft vocalizations that are widely referred to as Whisper Song, characterized by short repeated notes with mimicry of other species’ calls and their own songs that may continue for several minutes without pausing. They sing during breeding season from dawn to dusk, most frequently in early morning and late afternoon. Photo by Jack Jeffrey.
Hear the ‘Anianiau produced by SoundsHawaiian
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