Puaiohi

Puaiohi
Conservation status
Critically Endangered (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Turdidae
Genus:	Myadestes
Species:	M. palmeri
Binomial name
Myadestes palmeri (Rothschild, 1893)
Synonyms
Phaeornis palmeri

The Puaiohi or Small Kauaʻi Thrush ((Myadestes palmeri) is a rare species of songbird in the thrush family, Turdidae, that is endemic to the Hawaiian island of Kauaʻi. It is closely related to the other four endemic Hawaiian thrushes, the Kāmaʻo, Olomaʻo, ʻŌmaʻo, and ʻĀmaui. It was first collected by Henry Palmer in 1891 at Halemanu around the entrance to the Kōkeʻe State Park.^[2]

Description

The plumage is mostly nondescript, with slaty-brown upperparts and a light gray breast and belly below. Birds have a black bill and pinkish feet. A white eye ring is also fairly prominent and helps distinguish this bird from the other Hawaiian Thrushes. Both males and females are highly similar in appearance. Juveniles show a pattern transitioning from a spotted whitish-buff above to a scalloped gray-brown below.^[3]

Distribution and habitat

Historically, this species has always been considered rare,^[4] favoring forested ravines above 1,050 metres (3,440 ft). Puaiohi are restricted to the center and southern parts of the Alakaʻi Wilderness Preserve.^[5] 75% of the breeding population occurs in only 10 square kilometres (3.9 sq mi) of forest.

Diet and behavior

Outside the breeding season, most (82%) of the diet is fruit and berries, the remainder being insects and other invertebrates.^[6] Important food sources include fruits of the native ʻolapa (Cheirodendron trigynum), lapalapa (C. platyphyllum), ʻōhiʻa ha (Syzygium sandwicensis) and kanawao (Broussaisia arguta). In the breeding season, over fifty percent of the diet shifts to invertebrates.^[7] The song is varied, consisting of a simple till to a complex wheezing, and high pitched squeal described as a squeaking rather resembling a metal wheel needing lubrication.^[8] Males can be found singing throughout the year, but do so with increasing frequency as breeding season approaches, peaking from April to May.^[5] Nesting has been recorded as early as March, to as late as mid-September. Nests are built in cavities or ledges of cliff faces, concealed by mosses and ferns,^[9] but tree cavities are also used.^[10] Females are the sole nest builders, which can take up to 7 days.^[7] She also incubates the eggs, and broods and feeds the young birds while still in the nest. Eggs (usually 2 in are laid in the wild) are colored grayish-green to a muted greenish-blue with irregular reddish-brown splotches.^[2] Eggs hatch after 13–15 days. After fledging, the males become primary food providers to the young, while the female attempts a second brood.^[7] Females will also attempt to renest if the first attempt fails.

Status and protection

According to recent data, population estimates range from 200-300 birds, and have remained somewhat stable since 1973, although a study published in 1986 in estimated a population of approximately 100-125 birds.^[10] Puaiohi populations are vulnerable to drought, hurricanes, and mammalian predation of both eggs and young. Avian malaria also has been shown to affect many birds, but a few birds have shown some resistance. (C. Atkinson, USGS, unpublished data). Feral domesticated livestock (pigs and goats) also negatively affect populations of birds by degrading habitat, as has competition from many invasive plants and animals. The Puaihoi was added to the United States Federal Endangered Species list on March 11, 1967.^[11] In 1995, a captive breeding program was established.^[12] Some birds from this program are now being taken back to the Alakaʻi to supplement the wild population.^[13]

References

1. ^ "Myadestes palmeri". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. 2009. http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/147208. Retrieved 31 January 2010. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Berger, Andrew J. (1983). Hawaiian Birdlife, 2nd ed.. Honolulu: University Press of Hawaii. p. 98. ISBN 0-8248-0742-1. 
3. ^ Collar, N. J. (2005). Puaiohi (Myadestes palmeri). Pp 628-629 in: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A. & Christie, D. A. eds. (2005). Handbook of the Birds of the World. Vol. 10. Cuckoo-shrikes to Thrushes. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. ISBN 84-87334-72-5
4. ^ Perkins, R. C. L. (1903). Vertebrata. pp. 365-466 in D. Sharp. (editor) Fauna Hawaiiensis. Vol. 1, part IV. The University Press, Cambridge, U.K.
5. ^ ^{a b} U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Reg. 1. "Draft Revised Recovery Plan for Hawaiian Forest Birds, pg 36" (PDF). http://www.fws.gov/pacific/ecoservices/endangered/recovery/documents/HawaiiForestBirdsDraftRevisedRecoveryPlan.pdf. Retrieved 2008-08-01. 
6. ^ Richardson and Bowles, F. an J. (1961). "Records of the rare forest birds of Kauai, Hawaii". Condor 63: pp 179–180. 
7. ^ ^{a b c} U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Reg. 1. "Draft Revised Recovery Plan for Hawaiian Forest Birds, pg. 37" (PDF). http://www.fws.gov/pacific/ecoservices/endangered/recovery/documents/HawaiiForestBirdsDraftRevisedRecoveryPlan.pdf. Retrieved 2008-08-01. 
8. ^ Pratt, H.D. (1979). A systematic analysis of the endemic avifauna of the Hawaiian Islands, PhD thesis, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge. 
9. ^ Kepler and Kepler, C.B. and A.K.; Kepler, Angela K (1983). "A first record of the nest and chicks of the small Kauai thrush". Condor 85 (4): pp 497–499. doi:10.2307/1367996. JSTOR 1367996. 
10. ^ ^{a b} Snetsinger et al. (1999). Puaiohi (Myadestes palmeri). In The Birds of North America, No. 461 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.
11. ^ U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "Puaiohi-Species Profile". http://ecos.fws.gov/speciesProfile/SpeciesReport.do?spcode=B00S. Retrieved 2008-08-01. 
12. ^ Roberts et al., Pauline. "Measuring Success:Lessons Learned from the Puiaohi (Myadestes palmeri)". https://hawaii.conference-services.net/viewPDF.asp?conferenceID=1232&abstractID=238553. Retrieved July 31, 2008. 
13. ^ Birdlife International. "Puaiohi-Birdlife Species Factsheet". http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/search/species_search.html?action=SpcHTMDetails.asp&sid=6351&m=0. Retrieved 2008-08-01. 

External links

• Audubon Watchlist Species Account
• USFWS Threatened and Endangered Animals in the Hawaiian Islands Species Account