Aug. 28, 2011 - Birds of Hawaii - Part 2

None of the birds in this week’s photos are native species but they are still interesting. The Erckel’s Francolin was introduced from Africa in 1957. Measuring 16 inches long, it is about the size of our Ruffed Grouse. It is a game bird and that is why it was brought to Hawaii. All of these photos were taken on the Big Island of Hawaii.

FrankolinErkel'sRainforestbirdingtourBigIsland20110503

The Common Myna is indeed common. They were introduced in 1865 from India to control insect pests and are abundant on all of the Hawaiian Islands. They eat almost anything and are found in both urban and suburban areas. Mynas gather in noisy flocks and can become a nuisance. At 9 inches, they are about the size of a Robin and have a bright yellow patch of skin around the eye.

MynaCommonKonaBigIsland20110501

You might be thinking, “That’s just a chicken!” But it’s actually a Red Junglefowl. Truly wild populations of Red Junglefowl are found on Kaua’i, where they are secretive and live in the forest. But several other Hawaiian Islands have their share of these birds that roam around and seemingly belong to no one. Red Junglefowl were originally brought to the islands by the Polynesians to be used for food. They are about the size of our domestic chickens. This colorful individual is a male; females are drab brown.

JunglefowlRedKalokoDriveBigIsland20110505

The Kalij Pheasant, a native of Southern Asia, was introduced to the Big Island of Hawaii in 1962. As far as I can tell, that’s the only one of the Hawaiian Islands on which it is found. At 33 inches long, it is about the same size as our Ring-necked Pheasant. It has very striking black and white plumage and a bright red face.

PheasantKalijKalokoDriveBigIsland20110505

This is a familiar bird, a Wild Turkey. They were introduced from North America in 1815 so they have been in Hawaii for a long time.

TurkeyWildKalokoDriveBigIsland20110505

These two pictures of a pair of Zebra Doves were taken at the condo resort where we stayed. These photos just cry out for a good caption. Go ahead, get creative and enter your best caption in the comments section below.

DoveZebrawhimsicalOutriggercondoKonaHIcomposite20110501