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The Palila is a finch-billed honeycreeper with a golden-yellow head and breast, gray back, and gray/white belly. The female and immature birds are more subdued in color. Their finch-like bill is dark on adults and orange on fledglings. One of the larger honeycreepers, the Palila measures 6 to 7 inches. |
The Palila can only be found in 6,000 to 9,000 feet elevations on the slopes of Mauna Kea on the Big Island. This rare forestbird is very selective because it thrives in specific native ecosystems. Mamane and mamane-naio trees and the native understory such as pukiawe, grasslands, and lava fields are essential for their survival.
The Palili has a short call as well as a long melodious song. Its favorite food consists of green mamane seed pods. This active bird also eats insects, naio berries, and mamane flowers, buds, and young leaves. The Palila breeds from February to September and usually lays two eggs.
Past & Present:
Historically, the Palila is known only from the island of Hawai`i, occurring in the native mamane-naio forest on the upper slopes of Mauna Kea, the northwest slopes of Mauna Loa, and the eastern slopes of Hualalei. In prehistoric times, Palila also occurred at low elevation sites on O`ahu. Scientists as early as 1944 believed the bird was near extinction. In 1975, there were an estimated 1,614 Palila. Annual surveys from 1880-1995 have documented an estimated 3,000 individuals remaining, 92% of which occur on the south slope of Mauna Kea.
The Palila is threatened by invasive alien plants that compete with native species; feral animals such as cats, rats, and mongooses; livestock grazing that destroys vegetation; and fire.
Conservation Efforts:
The Palila was listed as an endangered species on March 11, 1967. This listing triggered a considerable amount of research on the bird and its habitat. The original U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recovery plan published in 1977 was updated in 1986. Critical habitat on Mauna Kea located on the Island of Hawai`i (Big Island) was designated by the Federal government in 1977. A 1978 Federal court ruling required that all feral sheep and goats be removed from Palila critical habitat. Scientists continue their quest to save this rare forestbird by monitoring its life cycle, fencing critical habitat to keep out feral animals, and promoting mamane tree revegetation efforts to establish new Palila populations in suitable habitat elsewhere on the Big Island.
Trivia quiz:
What threatens the Palila’s safety?
[a] alien plants and animals
[b] lost of habitat
[c] all of the above