Puaiohi

Overview

The puaiohi (Myadestes palmeri), also known as the small Kauaʻi thrush, is a rare songbird endemic to the Hawaiian island of Kauaʻi. It is classified as Critically Endangered by the IUCN Red List and is closely related to three other endemic Hawaiian thrushes.

Identification

• Slaty-brown upperparts and light grey breast and belly, with a prominent white eye ring.
• Black bill and pinkish feet.
• Song varies from a simple trill to a complex wheezing and high-pitched squeal, described as resembling a metal wheel needing lubrication.
• Juveniles display spotted whitish-buff upperparts and scalloped grey-brown lower parts.

Habitat

Restricted to the centre and southern parts of the Alakaʻi Wilderness Preserve on Kauaʻi, the species favours forested ravines above 1,050 metres. Seventy-five percent of the breeding population is confined to only 10 square kilometres of forest.

Diet

Outside the breeding season, the diet consists mostly of fruit and berries, with insects and other invertebrates making up the remainder. In the breeding season, over 50 percent of the diet shifts to invertebrates. Important food sources include fruits of the native ʻolapa, lapalapa, ʻōhiʻa ha, and kanawao.

Did you know?

Nests are built in cavities or ledges of cliff faces, concealed by mosses and ferns, but tree cavities are also used. Females are the sole nest builders, and nest building can take up to seven days.