We took a break from projects around the house and did a few outings to see what birds we could find.
We headed over to the town of Volcano to see if we could find some rare forest birds, specifically the Hawaii Creeper and Akepa. Unfortunately, we did not find either of those birds but we did see lots of Apapane, Amakihi, and I'iwi. I had a chance to get photos of this Hawaii Elepaio.
In addition to the endemic forest birds of the Big Island of Hawaii there are quite a few exotic introduced birds you can easily see around Kona.
Common Waxbills are native to sub-Saharan Africa. They have become established in Hawaii. They can typically be found in open, grassy areas.
Male Common Waxbill
Japanese White-eye is native to east Asia. It was introduced to Oahu in 1929 and now are found on every island in wet and deciduous forests and suburban areas.
Lavender Waxbills are native to tropical West Africa. They seem to be such love birds. We typically see them in pairs. One of the birds in this pair was preening their partner...it was pretty sweet to watch.
Red-masked Parakeet (not the greatest photos) has a limited range and is endemic to western Ecuador through northern Peru. Escaped captive birds have established resident populations in Los Angeles and Hawaii. It is considered threatened in its native range. It seems to be doing very well on the Big Island.
The Saffron Finch is a native of South America. It was introduced to the Hawaiian Islands in the 1960s and is doing very well.
Immature Saffron Finch
Immature Saffron Finch
Male Saffron Finch
The Yellow-billed Cardinal is a native to South America. The adult has a bright red head and black upper parts. The immature bird below has not come into its red head yet...
Immature Yellow-billed Cardinal
Happy & Healthy Holidays to all!
The World is Full of Beauty & Wonder,
Turtle & Hawk
