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Hawaiis State BirdThe Hawaiian Goose, also known as Nēnē, Branta sandvicensis, is a species of goose specific to the Hawaiian Islands. It shares a recent common ancestor with the Canada Goose, Branta canadensis.
It is the official bird of the State of Hawaii. The Nēnē is exclusively found in the wild of the islands of Maui, Kauai and Hawaii. A larger, extinct and possibly flightless species, the Nēnē-nui (Branta hylobadistes) was present in prehistoric times on Maui; related, but hitherto undescribed forms also resided on Kauaii and Oahu. These was also a gigantic, flightless relative on the island of Hawaii.
The Nēnē gets its Hawaiian name from its soft call.
The species has a black head, pale buff cheeks and a heavily furrowed neck. The bill, legs and feet are black. All young birds are as the male but a more dull brown and with less demarcation between the colors of the head and neck, and striping and barring effects are much reduced. Bill, legs and feet are the same as for the adult. The female Hawaiian Goose is similar to the male in coloring but is slightly smaller in size.
The strong toes of the Hawaiian Goose have reduced webbing, an adaptation to the lava flows on which it breeds. It mates on land unlike the mojority of other wildfowl.
The Nēnē is the world's rarest goose. While once common, hunting and predators such as mongooses, pigs, and cats had reduced the population to 30 birds by 1952. However, this species breeds well in captivity, and was been successfully re-introduced; in the year 2004 it was estimated that there were 450 birds in the wild. However, there are some concerns of inbreeding due to the small population of birds.
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