Hawaii’s honeycreeper bird family is often cited as the most spectacular avian example of adaptive radiation. From a single ancestor, this bird group evolved into more than 50 distinct honeycreeper species with an incredible variety of bill shapes and feeding behaviors.
This incredible diversity mirrors nearly all the bill shapes found in passerine songbirds around the world—nectar sippers, seed eaters, tree bark foragers, and more—plus several bill shapes not found in any other birds anywhere else on the planet.
Hawai’i’s geographical isolation has fostered unique relationships between native forest birds and the plants and trees they evolved with over the millennia — and this isolation also means that these native island birds are particularly vulnerable to the threats from introduced/invasive species and disease. Introduced animals, plants and diseases from elsewhere in the world continue to disrupt the unique island relationships and impact the wellbeing of Hawaii’s forests and native birds.
Because of these impacts, we conduct research in the remaining native forests in the islands. We work to evaluate trends in native forest bird status and distribution. This data then guides management decisions about protecting these precious native birds and addressing challenges to their survival.