A Field Guide to the Birds of Hawaii and the Tropical Pacific

A FIELD GUIDE TO THE BIRDS OF HAWAII AND THE TROPICAL PACIFIC

SPONSORED BY THE

HAWAII AUDUBON SOCIETY

A FIELD GUIDE TO

The Birds of

Hawaii and the

Tropical Pacific

BY H. DOUGLAS PRATT

PHILLIP L. BRUNER AND

DELWYN G. BERRETT

ILLUSTRATED BY

H. DOUGLAS PRATT

PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS

Copyright © 1987 by the Hawaii Audubon Society and H. Douglas Pratt

Published by Princeton University Press, 41 William Street,

Princeton, New Jersey 08540

In the United Kingdom: Princeton University Press,

Chichester, West Sussex

All Rights Reserved

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data will be

found on the last printed page of this book

ISBN 0-691-08402-5

ISBN 0-691-02399-9 (pbk.)

This book has been composed in Linotron Baskerville

Princeton University Press books are printed on acid-free paper and meet the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources

Fourth printing, 1989

http://pup.princeton.edu

Printed in the United States of America

10

ISBN-13: 978-0-691-02399-1 (pbk.)

ISBN-10: 0-691-02399-9 (pbk.)

TO DR. ROBERT J. NEWMAN

Curator Emeritus,

Louisiana State University Museum of Zoology

Teacher, Mentor, and Friend

CONTENTS

LIST OF COLOR PLATES AND TABLES ix

PREFACE xi

INTRODUCTION xv

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS xix

I. HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

Color Plates 3

Species Accounts 3

Scientific Names 5

Taxonomy 6

English Names 7

Other Pacific Languages 8

New Island Names 10

Terminology 10

II. A BIRDER’S-EYE VIEW OF THE TROPICAL PACIFIC 15

Continental vs. Oceanic Islands 15

Kinds of Oceanic Islands 17

Tropical Pacific Habitats 20

Island Birding 30

Conservation 35

III. SPECIES ACCOUNTS 45

APPENDIX A. HYPOTHETICAL, ENIGMATIC, AND TEMPORARILY ESTABLISHED SPECIES 321

APPENDIX B. REGIONAL CHECKLISTS 329

1. Hawaiian Islands 330

2. Micronesia (High Islands only) 338

3. Central Pacific Islands 334

4. Central Polynesia 348

5. Southeastern Polynesia 351

6. Fiji 355

APPENDIX C. REGIONAL MAPS 359

Hawaiian Islands 360

Micronesia 361

Central Pacific 362

South-Central Pacific 363

Southeastern Polynesia 364

Palau 365

Mariana Islands 366

Truk 367

Samoa 367

Fiji 368

Tonga 369

Cook Islands 370

Society Islands 371

Marquesas Islands 372

GLOSSARY 373

BIBLIOGRAPHY 379

INDEX 389

LIST OF COLOR PLATES AND TABLES

COLOR PLATES

1. Albatrosses and Frigatebirds

2. Dark-bodied Shearwaters and Petrels

3. Shearwaters and Petrels (dark above; white below)

4. Shearwaters and Larger Petrels

5. Smaller Gadfly-Petrels

6. Storm-Petrels

7. Tropicbirds, Boobies, and Cormorant

8. Long-legged Wading Birds

9. Ducks I

10. Ducks II

11. Birds of Prey

12. Francolins, Quails, and Sandgrouse

13. Larger Wildfowl

14. Megapodes, Gallinules, Coots, and Goose

15. Rails

16. Shorebirds I: Plovers, Pratincole, and Turnstone

17. Shorebirds II: Stilt, Curlews, Godwits, and Large Sandpipers

18. Shorebirds III: Stints and Smaller Sandpipers

19. Shorebirds IV: Various Medium-sized Species

20. Terns

21. Micronesian Land Birds I: Pigeons and Doves

22. Micronesian Land Birds II: Various Nonpasserines

23. Micronesian Land Birds III: Widespread Species and Marianas Endemics

24. Micronesian Land Birds IV: Small Land Birds of Palau and Yap

25. Micronesian Land Birds V: Small Land Birds of the Eastern Carolines

26. Polynesian Land Birds I: Pigeons and Doves of Central Polynesia

27. Polynesian Land Birds II: Pigeons and Doves of Southeastern Polynesia

28. Polynesian Land Birds III: Cuckoos, Parrots, and Kingfishers of Central Polynesia

29. Polynesian Land Birds IV: Parrots and Kingfishers of Southeastern Polynesia

30. Polynesian Land Birds V: Smaller Insectivorous Birds

31. Polynesian Land Birds VI: Trillers, Thrushes, and Woodswallow

32. Polynesian Land Birds VII: Whistlers, White-eyes, and Other Small Birds

33. Polynesian Land Birds VIII: Shrikebills, Starlings, and Larger Honeyeaters

34. Polynesian Land Birds IX: Reed-warblers and Monarchs

35. Hawaiian Native Birds I: Thrushes, Warbler, and Elepaio

36. Hawaiian Native Birds II: Crow and Honeyeaters

37. Hawaiian Native Birds III: Drepanidine Finches

38. Hawaiian Native Birds IV: Red, Black, and Yellow Honeycreepers

39. Hawaiian Native Birds V: Yellow, Green, and Brown Honeycreepers

40. Introduced Birds I: Cardinals, Tanagers, Bulbuls, and Doves

41. Introduced Birds II: Magpie, Mynas, Laughing-thrushes, and Others

42. Introduced Birds III: Finches and Other Small Passerines

43. Introduced Birds IV: Estrildid Finches

44. Plants Important to Birds and Birders I: Hawaiian Native Trees

45. Plants Important to Birds and Birders II: Various Pacific Plants

TABLES

1. The 20 Largest Islands of the Tropical Pacific

2. Highest Peaks of the Tropical Pacific

3. Scientific Names of Plants Mentioned in This Book

4. Distribution and Status of Little Green Birds in Hawaii

5. Extinct Bird Species of the Tropical Pacific

6. Endangered and Threatened Breeding Birds of the Tropical Pacific

PREFACE

THE idea for this guide originated in discussions between Pratt and Bruner while they were graduate students under the late George H. Lowery, Jr., at Louisiana State University. Berrett, who had also studied under Lowery, later joined the effort. The authors have conducted extensive field work in all parts of the tropical Pacific. Berrett resided for many years in Hawaii and began the growing ornithological collections of Brigham Young University-Hawaii Campus with expeditions to Fiji, Samoa, and Tonga. Bruner, a nearly life-long Hawaii resident, lived for a year in French Polynesia and has worked extensively in the Society Islands, the Tuamotus, and the Marquesas. He recently made observations in the Tubuai Islands (1984) and the Marquesas (1985) that provided the most up-to-date information on these remote islands. Pratt first visited the tropical Pacific in 1974, and has returned almost annually since then for field work. The three authors together conducted a major research expedition to Micronesia in 1976, and Bruner and Pratt carried out a similar effort in Samoa and Fiji in 1977. The latter two have returned to Micronesia several times since, with independent visits to Guam, Yap, and Palau. Berrett is now at Ricks College in Rexburg, Idaho, and Bruner is Assistant Professor of Biology and Director of the Museum of Natural History at Brigham Young University—Hawaii Campus in Laie, Hawaii. Pratt resides in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where he is a free-lance artist and Staff Research Associate of the Louisiana State University Museum of Zoology.

The production of this book has truly been a cooperative effort of the three authors, who shared about equally in the research phase and each of whom read and criticized the others’ writing. Of course, there had to be some division of labor. Pratt has served as the overall editor and final arbiter of points of disagreement (which were few). He also had primary responsibility for writing the introductory sections and appendices; the facing-page notes to the color Plates; many of the species accounts including all of those for Hawaiian birds, shorebirds, kingfishers, and swifts; notes on taxonomy and nomenclature; and the general accounts of families and genera. Pratt also prepared all of the illustrations and maps. Bruner and Berrett wrote most of the remaining species accounts. Berrett and Pratt compiled the distributional checklists.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors’ field work in the Pacific has been supported by several agencies and institutions. These include Brigham Young University-Hawaii Campus, the Frank M. Chapman Memorial Fund of the American Museum of Natural History, and Louisiana State University Museum of Zoology. Since 1979 the project has been sponsored by the Hawaii Audubon Society, which subsidized Pratt’s work on the color Plates, provided insurance coverage of them, and assumed responsibility for getting the book published. The Society’s support was crucial and the authors are grateful to the various members who have been helpful. We particularly thank Sheila Conant, Norris Henthorne, Robert L. Pyle, C. John Ralph, and Robert J. Shallenberger.

Logistical support for field work was generously provided by many people. We wish particularly to acknowledge the assistance of Robert P. Owen, John Engbring, and John Kochi at Palau; Robin Mercer and Al Hoffiens in Fiji; Edwin Kamauoha, Sr., in Western Samoa; Patoa Benioni in American Samoa; Chunio Nimwes at Truk; and Gilles Gooding, Frideane Gooding, Kisan Chancet, Rony Tumahai, Maco Tevane, and Raymond Dehors in French Polynesia. In Hawaii, a host of individuals provided lodging, field assistance, and moral support. These include Tim Burr, Tonnie L. C. Casey, Sheila Conant, Peter Donaldson, James D. Jacobi, C. J. and Carol P. Ralph, J. Michael Scott, Annarie and R. J. Shallenberger, John Sincock, Charles van Riper III, and David W. Woodside.

Many institutions have provided research assistance and access to collections. For such services we thank Alan C. Ziegler and Robert L. Pyle (Bernice P. Bishop Museum, Honolulu); Edwin C. Bryan (Pacific Scientific Information Center, Honolulu); John Farrand, Stuart Keith, Mary LeCroy, François Vuilleumier, and Robert J. Dickerman (American Museum of Natural History, New York); James L. Gulledge (Library of Natural Sounds, Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, Ithaca); George W. Watson, Storrs L. Olson, Roger B. Clapp, Richard C. Banks, and Richard L. Zusi (National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution); Charles G. Sibley (Yale Peabody Museum); Raymond A. Paynter (Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard); Frank B. Gill (Philadelphia Academy of Sciences); Ned K. Johnson (Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California at Berkeley); and James V. Remsen (Louisiana State University Museum of Zoology).

The personnel of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Hawaii have been of immense help in keeping us abreast of research developments and providing us with prepublication access to the results of their recent surveys in Hawaii and Micronesia. Special thanks are due John Engbring, J. Michael Scott, Stephen R. Mountainspring, and Peter Pyle.

Pratt’s work on the illustrations has been greatly aided by discussions with other artists and ornithologists, some of whom graciously provided unpublished field notes and photographs of difficult species. Especially helpful were Jon Dunn, Wayne Hoffman, Joseph R. Jehl, David S. Lee, Ron Naveen, John O’Neill, Dennis Paulson, Peter Pyle, and Don Roberson.

We also wish to express our appreciation to Andrea Bruner, who translated much of the French literature and typed a major portion of the original manuscript. Judith May of Princeton University Press was instrumental in persuading us to publish with them, and has been very helpful in the final preparation of the book.

1 May 1985

H. Douglas Pratt

Phillip L. Bruner

Delwyn G. Berrett

INTRODUCTION

THE study of birds has become one of the world’s most popular pastimes. Birdwatchers, or birders as they are commonly called today, are increasingly becoming world travelers and their infectious interest has spread to many new areas where birding has not been a tradition. This development is a welcome one, because birders have always formed the vanguard of environmental concern. Their activities inevitably lead to better appreciation and protection of the natural world. If this book makes even a small contribution to environmental awareness in the tropical Pacific, our purpose will have been met. Many Pacific island cultures held birds in high regard. For example, ancient Hawaii had a kapu (taboo) that protected some of the birds whose feathers were used in adornments of the ali‘i (royalty). Such traditions have died out in many places. We hope this book will help to rekindle the ancient reverence for birdlife among Pacific island peoples. We have written the book with them, as well as the traveler, in mind. This guide is designed to allow an observer unfamiliar with birds to identify those seen. We avoid lengthy descriptions, and rely instead on illustrations and a text that emphasizes those essential characteristics (field marks) that set one species apart from others. Our system is modeled after that originated by Roger Tory Peterson in his now-classic field guides, but we have made modifications for the island context.

This book has four interrelated parts: an introductory section devoted to birding techniques in general and special features of birding in the tropical Pacific; color Plates with accompanying thumbnail notes; species accounts; and a group of appendices including regional checklists, regional maps, and a glossary.

The geographic area covered (see map) encompasses most of the islands of the tropical Pacific and the adjacent open seas. It covers all of the Hawaiian Islands, Micronesia, central Polynesia, and Fiji. Polynesia is traditionally defined as a triangular area with apices at Hawaii, Easter Island (Rapa Nui), and New Zealand. Fiji straddles the boundary between Polynesia and Melanesia and can with justification be included in either. We include Fiji because of its close political and transportational links to the nations of central Polynesia. Since New Zealand is already adequately served by bird guides (see Bibliography), we have not included it, nor do we cover the Chilean possession of Easter Island. Thus our area can be defined roughly as tropical Polynesia, Micronesia, and Fiji. The only subtropical islands covered are the southern Tubuai Islands and the Pitcairn group just south of the Tropic of Capricorn, and those islands of the Hawaiian chain that extend northwestward beyond the Tropic of Cancer.

All bird species that have been recorded in the above area are covered. Not all species are illustrated, however. Any species that nests on or regularly visits the islands of the tropical Pacific or regularly migrates through the surrounding oceans is shown on the color Plates. The color Plates also include, for comparison, a few of the rarer visitors to the area. Also shown are most of the species thought to be extinct. Extinct birds are included so that, for example, a birder on Oahu will know that the mostly dark bird he has seen is not an Oahu Oo, and also because we are hopeful that some of these birds may turn up again in remote, little-visited places. Bishop’s Oo was found on Maui after a lapse in sightings of almost eighty years. In Fiji, the Long-legged Warbler and Fiji Petrel have also been found after long lapses (138 years in the latter case!). Thus our hope may not be in vain. Another reason for showing supposedly extinct birds is to emphasize to the observer how much has already been lost, and how great is the need to preserve what remains. Some species not included in the color Plates are shown as black and white figures in the text but others are not illustrated at all. Most of these are rare migratory visitors or occasional stragglers to the tropical Pacific from Siberia, North America, Australasia, or the southern oceans. We believe that illustrating such rarities would be distracting and counterproductive, because the average birder in the tropical Pacific would encounter only a few such birds in a lifetime. Many stragglers may never be found in the region again, and some others that have not yet been recorded may be equally likely to turn up. The birder wishing to pursue rarities should have field guides to surrounding areas as well as this one. Particularly important in this regard would be any of several recent references on the birds of North America and a good book on seabirds of the world. Birders in Micronesia will want sources on the birds of eastern Asia and Australia. For birds that are not illustrated here, we have often included citations of published illustrations elsewhere. These and others are listed in the Bibliography.

ABBREVIATIONS

THE primary compass directions (N, S, E, W) and combinations thereof (NE, SW, etc.) are written as capital letters without periods (except when part of a proper name such as N. America). Lowercase directional letters, followed by periods, should be read as the adjectival form (e., eastern; nw., northwestern; etc.). Two exceptions to the foregoing are W. Samoa (Western Samoa) and NW Hawaiian Is. (Northwestern Hawaiian Islands). American Samoa is abbreviated A. Samoa. The words island, islands, and archipelago are abbreviated only when part of a proper name as I., Is., and Arch. respectively. Central is abbreviated c.

Several organizations and publications are designated by special acronyms or abbreviations as follows:

In the references that accompany the species accounts, as well as in the Bibliography, we have adopted the following standard abbreviations:

In the facing-page notes for the color Plates, we abbreviate adult (ad.), subadult (subad.), immature (imm.), juvenile (juv.), breeding (br.), and nonbreeding (nonbr.).

A FIELD GUIDE TO THE BIRDS OF HAWAII AND THE TROPICAL PACIFIC

I. HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

COLOR PLATES

The color Plates and their accompanying notes are the heart of this guide. One should be familiar with them before going afield and should always consult them first when making an identification. In most cases, the illustration plus the thumbnail comment on the facing page will be sufficient to identify the bird seen. Further information when needed, as well as comments on voice, distribution, and status, will be found in the cross-referenced species accounts.

The Plates are organized so that birds likely to be seen together are close together in the illustrations. Some nonpasserines (seabirds, shorebirds, freshwater birds, birds of prey, etc.) are arranged in more or less taxonomic sequence because many are widespread in the tropical Pacific. Those that are not widespread must be compared with those that are. Island land birds, however, are usually very sedentary and are often endemic (found only on one island or group). Thus, even though the Elepaio of Hawaii is closely related to the Tinian Monarch of the Marianas and the Slaty Flycatcher of Fiji, it does not appear with them in the Plates but rather with other Hawaiian forest birds. We believe this arrangement will be more practical for birders than a strictly taxonomic one. The Plates also include photographs of some of the plants that a birder in the tropical Pacific will need to know.

SPECIES ACCOUNTS

The species accounts are arranged in taxonomic or phylogenetic sequence. Such an arrangement groups closely related birds together, but to the beginner may appear bewilderingly arbitrary. A little work with the field guide will familiarize one with the sequence. Our phylogenetic order follows that adopted in 1983 by the American Ornithologists’ Union for its checklist of North American birds. Taxa that do not appear in that list are inserted where appropriate. The only exception to the AOU classification of higher categories is our treatment of the Australo-Papuan insect-eaters (Pachycephalidae), which we regard as not closely related to the Muscicapidae.

The species accounts follow a standard format with subheadings for the various kinds of information. Subheadings are sometimes combined, and for very rare or little-known birds only a single paragraph is given. A typical account will have the following subheadings:

APPEARANCE: The two numbers in parentheses are the total length of the bird in inches and centimeters. These are provided to give an idea of a bird’s relative size, but such measurements are inherently imprecise and do not take into account the range of individual variation. Use them with care. After the size we give important descriptive information for distinguishing the species in question. These descriptions are written as supplements to the illustrations, which should always be consulted first.

HABITS: Here we give information about habitat, feeding behavior, diet, displays, or even nesting behavior where such is useful for identification.

VOICE: Bird vocalizations are very difficult to transcribe in words. One man’s chuck is another man’s tchick. We hope our pioneering effort to describe voices of Pacific island birds will be useful. Only a few of them have been previously described, often inadequately. We have often borrowed particularly apt vocal descriptions from others. If published, we cite the source; otherwise we credit the individual.

IDENTIFICATION: This section tells how to distinguish the bird in question from similar species with which it might be confused. For those species that are distinctive and unmistakable, this subheading is omitted.

OCCURRENCE: This term covers status (see Terminology, below), distribution (both geographic and elevational), and such information as whether the species is endemic, the origin and dates of introduction of exotics, and other pertinent historical facts. Geographic distribution is given by island group (printed in all capitals) with island details given in parentheses unless the bird is found on only a single island in a group, in which case the single island name is in all capitals and the group in parentheses. The larger Caroline Islands (Palau, Yap, Truk, Pohnpei, Kosrae) are usually considered separate entities. Thus a distribution might read HAWAIIAN IS. (Midway, Laysan), SAIPAN (Mariana Is.), and YAP. This bird would be found in the Hawaiian Islands only on the two named islands, on Saipan only in the Marianas, and on Yap. Portions of a bird’s range outside the area covered by this guide are always written in lower case.

REFERENCES: Where such are available, we cite books and articles published through mid-1985 that provide further information that may be useful to the birder. These references do not include regional faunal works, and are not repeated in the Bibliography. We have been highly selective in these listings, which are not intended to be exhaustive. We apologize to those authors whose works we have either overlooked or underappreciated.

OTHER NAMES: We list only names that have appeared in recent major publications. Old names long in disuse and most native-language names, except the widely used Hawaiian ones, are not listed. We include all alternative names given in three of the most recent worldwide bird checklists (Clements 1981; Howard and Moore 1980; Walters 1980).

NOTE: This section is used for miscellaneous data or comments not appropriate for other headings. In particular, we have used this section to discuss our taxonomy where it differs from that in other publications.

SCIENTIFIC NAMES

Birds, as well as other organisms, have two kinds of names: the scientific name based on classical Greek and Latin, and the vernacular or common names in various modern languages. Scientific names have two parts. A surname called the genus (plural genera) appears first and is always capitalized. A second word, never capitalized, is called the species epithet. The species name should never be used alone; it has meaning only when attached to a generic name. On the other hand, the species name is much more stable through time than the generic designation. Species can be, and often are, transferred from one genus to another as we learn more about them. Scientific names are the best means of identifying a species under discussion. They are used universally by ornithologists of all nationalities.

TAXONOMY

Taxonomy, the science of classifying and naming living things, is a rather esoteric field that the average birder probably would just as soon ignore. However, a little knowledge of its principles will help greatly in understanding why birds are classified as they are. Birds belong to the Class Aves, one of seven classes of vertebrate animals (the others are mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and three groups of fishes). Classes are subdivided into orders, which in the case of birds always end in -iformes. Orders are made up of families (which end in -idae), and these may or may not have recognized subfamilies (-inae). Finally, families comprise one or more genera. All of these groupings are artificial. They express relationships but are still abstract concepts. Species, however, ideally are real entities in nature, and therefore their delineation is of some importance.

A species is defined biologically as a group of populations that actually or potentially interbreed freely. The test of whether two populations are the same species is not whether they can interbreed, but whether they would interbreed under natural conditions. Thus hybrids formed in zoos tell us nothing about species limits because they were produced in an unnatural situation. When two similar birds share the same island (that is, are sympatric) without interbreeding, they are clearly different species. But what if two slightly different populations live on different islands (are allopatric)? In those cases, ornithologists must decide whether the differences are great enough to prevent interbreeding if the two should become sympatric. If the researcher thinks the differences are insufficient to prevent interbreeding, the two populations are considered the same species (i.e. conspecific), and are referred to as subspecies or races. Subspecies are indicated in the scientific name by addition of a third word after the species epithet. The first subspecies to be named (the nominate) usually repeats the species epithet. Thus the Tahiti Kingfisher (Halcyon venerata) on Tahiti is called Halcyon venerata venerata while the population on Moorea is Halcyon venerata youngi. In discussions of subspecies, the genus and species may be abbreviated as initials (as in H. v. venerata) if the name has been written out previously in the account.

The species status of allopatric populations is, at best, difficult to determine. Whether the populations are several distinct species or only races of a widespread species cannot often be verified. When the birds are well known biologically, a consensus can usually be reached. But when few data are available, as is the case with many Pacific island populations, controversy often arises. We have explained reasoning in those cases where our taxonomy differs from that published elsewhere. In most cases, our innovations are based on our own field experience.

ENGLISH NAMES

Of more immediate concern to the birder, but much less meaningful than the scientific names, are the English vernacular names of birds. Such names are subject to no universally accepted rules and vary widely from place to place, from book to book, or even from person to person. A few attempts have recently been made to standardize English names of birds internationally, but none has really succeeded. The best efforts have been those regional works that have viewed their area’s names in a worldwide context. Particularly noteworthy are King and Dickinson’s Field Guide to the Birds of South-East Asia (1975) and the 1983 AOU Check-list with its 1985 Supplement. The AOU Check-list now covers the Hawaiian Islands, and we have followed it in most cases for English names. In the 12 cases where we prefer a name different from that used in the AOU Check-list, we give the AOU name parenthetically in the species heading. In some of these cases (e.g. Green-backed Heron, Ringnecked Pheasant) the AOU name seems to be in conflict with the organization’s own guidelines. In others, we believe the less preferable of alternatives was chosen. We hope our notes on names will influence future supplements to the AOU Check-list. We have particularly striven to suggest names that enhance international nomenclatural agreement, and therefore have often recommended names in use in Australia and New Zealand over AOU names, especially when the former are more suitable. In the case of seabirds, we hope to bring AOU names into line with those used in the several recent publications on seabirds of the world (Harrison 1983; Lofgren 1984; Tuck 1980; Tuck and Heinzel 1978).

We have avoided name innovations as much as possible. However, for most birds unique to the tropical Pacific no consensus on English names exists, and the names in use in other publications are often unsuitable for a variety of reasons. Because these names have not appeared in a great many publications, we believe that this field guide is as good a place as any to begin the renovation and standardization of English names for birds in the region. We have tried to suggest names that are memorable and informative as well as accurate. Explanations and comments are given under the Note heading in the species accounts where necessary.

OTHER PACIFIC LANGUAGES

Native residents of virtually all islands of the tropical Pacific speak one or another European language (usually English or French). Interisland travelers need not know the indigenous languages to get along. But some brief acquaintance with the rules of pronunciation of native languages will greatly enhance the visitor’s enjoyment. Even in places where the native tongue is now rarely used conversationally, as in Hawaii, native terms are ubiquitous and appear in names of birds, plants, and places. The following brief discussions are intended only to enable the English-speaking visitor to pronounce the native-language words encountered. Space does not permit a discussion of all native languages, but the following ones require some explanation.

POLYNESIAN LANGUAGES (HAWAIIAN, SAMOAN, TAHITIAN, ETC.). These languages are all closely related and have similar rules of pronunciation. Spelling is phonetic, with consonants more or less as in English and vowels as in Romance languages such as Spanish. In Hawaiian, the letter w is pronounced as the English w before u or o, as the English v before i or e, and either way before a. In Samoan, the letter g is pronounced as ng (e.g. Pago Pago sounds like Pango Pango). Otherwise, consonants are fairly straightforward except for the glottal stop(‘), a letter not found in European alphabets. It resembles the stoppage of sound in the interjection oh-oh, and functions as a consonant, not as a mark of punctuation. Unfortunately, English-speaking immigrants did not appreciate this point and the glottal stop has been deleted from the spelling of many words. In this book, we use it only for island names such as Niuafo‘ou that have not yet been so corrupted in spelling as those in Hawaii and American Samoa. Otherwise, in the interest of international consistency we write the island names without glottal stops.

Stress in Polynesian languages falls on the next-to-last syllable and alternating preceding syllables except for five-syllable words, which are stressed on the first and fourth. Some words have irregular stress indicated by a macron (¯) over the stressed vowel. Thus Akiapolaau (written ‘akia-pō-lā‘au in Hawaiian) is pronounced ah-kee-ah-PO-LA-ow, not ah-kee-ah-puh-LAU. In cases where a bird name is likely to be mispronounced otherwise, we give the Hawaiian orthography in the Other Names section of the species account.

FIJIAN. TWO different spelling systems are in use for Fijian. Both use Romance language phonetics for vowels. A new system follows, more or less, English pronunciation of all consonants. The older system, and the one most often seen in Fiji itself, has the following special case consonants:

b is pronounced as the mb in limber

c is pronounced as the th in this

d is pronounced as the nd in windy

g is pronounced as the ng in singer

q is pronounced as the ng in anger

We have chosen to use the old system. A few examples of how the two differ are: Buca (Mbutha), Gau (Ngau), Kadavu (Kandavu), Beqa (Mbengga).

I-KIRIBATI (FORMERLY GILBERTESE). The only peculiarity of the language of Kiribati that must be pointed out here is that the combination ti is pronounced much like the English s, and the r is rolled and not very different from the sound of English l. Thus neither Kiribati (Gilberts) nor Kiritimati (Christmas) sounds as different from the English words each represents as the spelling may seem to indicate.

NEW ISLAND NAMES

Many newly independent Pacific island nations have recently adopted new names for islands or island groups. Many of these are not really new, but are reversions to native language names (e.g. Banaba) or are spelling corrections based on more accurate transliterations of native names (e.g. Kosrae). Others are nativizations of colonial names (e.g. Kiritimati). The following are the new island names that appear in this book, with their older equivalents:

The Republic of Palau has recently decided to retain that name (at least in English) rather than change to Belau, a more accurate spelling. The spelling of Palau’s largest island has never been standardized (Babelthuap, Babeldaob, Babeldaop). We use the first spelling, but as we go to press the other, more phonetically accurate, spellings are being increasingly used, and one may be officially adopted before long.

TERMINOLOGY

TOPOGRAPHY. Figure 1 illustrates the topographical and anatomical terms used to describe birds. Most of these terms are not repeated in the Glossary.

MOLT. Birds replace their feathers periodically in what is called molt. Because the actual molt sequence is not known for many birds in the tropical Pacific, we have adopted a simple, functional terminology for that sequence, rather than one of the more technically precise systems. Our system is thus purposely imprecise. A bird’s first full feathering is called juvenile plumage, and birds in that stage are called juveniles. We avoid the term juvenal. The term immature is used for any plumage stage other than adult. Some birds, once mature, do not visibly alter their plumage except by feather wear (ornithologists call this the definitive plumage). Others go through annual cycles with a breeding (alternate, nuptial) plumage and a nonbreeding (basic, winter) one. Obviously the seasonal terms are inappropriate in the tropics. We use them occasionally, however, for birds that breed in temperate regions.

STATUS. Our terminology for status is necessarily imprecise because often no good quantitative population data are available for birds of the region. For resident birds, we use several general terms. Abundant and common are used for birds that are so numerous and conspicuous in their proper range and habitat that they would be hard for an observer to miss. Those that are uncommon are present in lower numbers and are seen regularly, but may be difficult to find on a given day. Rare birds have low populations and require special efforts for an observer to see them. Very rare or nearly extinct birds may be reported only once in several decades, even when competent observers have been searching for them. We do not consider any bird extinct that has been reliably reported since 1966. Birds are always unevenly distributed, so even a very rare one may be locally common, as would be the case if only 50 individuals survived but all lived within one hectare.

For migrants, we use the above terms as well as others. A casual visitor has been found several times, but has no predictable pattern of occurrence. Such birds can be expected to turn up again, but not every year. Regular and fairly regular imply annual and nearly annual occurrence respectively. Birds may be both rare and regular if they are annually present in very low numbers.

The capitalized terms Endangered Species and Threatened Species are used only for those populations officially so designated under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. When not capitalized, such terms reflect our own judgment or that of nongovernmental agencies such as the ICBP. That organization also uses the designation vulnerable for species likely to become endangered unless preventive measures are taken. It is roughly equivalent to the U.S. Threatened category. For further explanation of these and other terms of status, see Table 6.

FIGURE 1: Avian Topography.

II. A BIRDER’S-EYE VIEW OF THE TROPICAL PACIFIC

THE Pacific Ocean occupies over one-third of the earth’s surface, an area greater than that of all the land areas combined. Within this vast expanse of water are scattered over 10,000 relatively small islands. They are concentrated in the central and southwestern parts of the ocean, with a broad band in the northern and eastern sectors entirely devoid of land. The Hawaiian Islands are the closest to North America, but are separated from that continent by about 4025 km (2500 mi.) of open ocean. Similar distances separate them from significant land masses in all directions; they are the world’s most isolated archipelago. The other islands of the tropical Pacific are somewhat closer to larger land masses, but are rather isolated nevertheless.

None of the islands in the area covered by this guide is large. Hawaii and Viti Levu are the largest, and are slightly smaller than Jamaica, about twice the size of the State of Delaware, and half the size of Wales. Size drops off rapidly (see Table 1) after the three largest islands. Hawaii, for example, is larger than all the other Hawaiian islands combined. Despite the vastness of the region, the total land area of all the islands is only 46,632 sq. km (18,000 sq. mi.), over half of which is contributed by the three largest.

CONTINENTAL VS. OCEANIC ISLANDS

Islands have long been classified as either continental or oceanic, but the meaning of these terms differs among academic disciplines. Zoogeographers consider an island oceanic if it has not been attached to a continent during the history of the group of organisms being studied. Continental islands have had such connections (often called land bridges in the past). The distinction, from the point of view of animal dispersal, is obvious and important. All of the islands covered here are oceanic in this sense. Thus their indigenous faunas lack such continental elements as terrestrial mammals; only those groups of animals capable of over-water dispersal are represented.

TABLE 1. THE 20 LARGEST ISLANDS OF THE TROPICAL PACIFIC

Geographers and geologists use a slightly different way of distinguishing oceanic from continental islands that is based on position relative to the earth’s tectonic Plates. Some Plates are themselves called continental, and islands that rise from them are therefore called continental islands whether they have had an above-water connection with a continent or not. Most of the islands in the tropical Pacific (as defined here) rise from the Pacific Plate, which forms the floor of the central and northern Pacific Ocean, and are thus oceanic. Fiji rises from a fragment of a Plate that once was part of the Australian continental mass. It is thus continental in one sense, but oceanic in the faunistic sense. Other faunistically oceanic islands such as Tonga, Yap, Palau, and the Marianas lie along Plate boundaries.

The movement of the Pacific Plate toward the northwest helps explain why many Pacific islands lie in roughly parallel northwest-southeast arcs. Because of a tectonic shift in direction, older archipelagoes like the Line and Marshall islands have a more vertical orientation than the younger ones such as the Hawaiian and Society islands. The youngest islands tend to be at the southeastern end of each archipelago, as is the case with Hawaii and Tahiti. In Samoa, this generalization appears to be reversed, but other forces have come into play there because of the proximity of a Plate boundary.

KINDS OF OCEANIC ISLANDS

Although islands can be classified on the basis of their physiography and mode of formation, it is important to understand that the forces that form them are ongoing and dynamic. Many islands are intermediate in type. From the point of view of bird distribution, islands fall into two broad categories: atolls and high islands. The latter can be further divided into three types.

ATOLLS. Atolls are rings of low sandy islets (called motus in Polynesia) that surround a central saltwater lagoon. Such islands form as ocean levels rise or a former island mass sinks to become a seamount. The fringing reef of the original island continues to grow if the changes