This grassland bird is native to western and central North America. Breeding adults bear a striking yellow chest with a distinct black ‘V’ down their necks, providing an eye-catching contrast against their drab brown and black streaked upperparts. Outside of breeding season, the yellow on the western meadowlark’s chest takes on a much more subdued ...
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An introduced species in Hawaiʻi, the Greater Necklaced Laughingthrush is native to East and Southeast Asia, where it is typically found in small flocks within wet lowland and hill forests, often around streams. Its distinct black ‘necklace’ stands out against its brown upperparts, light cream colored underparts, and white cheek patches.
The melodious song of the white-rumped shama includes a varied series of flutelike notes and loud whistles, often mimicking other birds. Males are glossy black above and deep chestnut below with a bright white patch above the tail and white under-tail feathers. Females have a similar, but duller color pattern. White-rumped shamas have long been ...
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Easily recognizable with its sharply pointed black crest and red ear patches, the red-whiskered bulbul has white underparts, brown upperparts, and a red patch in the area beneath its tail. Its loud, scolding call makes a sharp ‘kink-a-joo‘ sound.
Originally brought to Hawaii as a pet and released into the wild in the 1950’s, the red-vented bulbul is now present in large numbers across Oʻahu. Both males and females have a dark black crested head, gray-brown body and chest, a long tail tipped with white, and a bright red patch beneath the tail. The ...
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In the wild, the rose-ringed parakeet has a distinct, bright-green appearance. Males possess a red and black ring around the neck, while females and juveniles either display no neck ring or a pale to dark-gray neck ring. In captivity, rose-ringed parakeets can be bred to display a variety of color mutations including turquiose, olive, white, ...
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This endangered parrot is native to northeastern Mexico and southern Texas. As its name suggests, the red-crowned Amazon sports a bright red forehead and crown atop a generally bright green body. Finer details include a dark blue streak behind the eyes, light green cheeks, an ivory-yellow bill, and a white eye-ring. Escaped house pets have ...
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This endangered bird was introduced to Oahu in the early 1960s. Since then, a small population has successfully remained. Populations in its native habitat in Guam have declined due to predation by brown tree snakes and the use of pesticides. The bird’s head and upperparts are dark gray-brown, its throat and upper breast gray-white, and ...
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Rosy-faced lovebirds have green bodies with bright blue feathers at the base of the tail just under the wingtips, and charismatic rosy face. This species is native to dryer habitats of southwestern Africa and moves in small flocks. Sexes alike.
Mitred parakeets have red foreheads and irregularly placed red facial feathers on an otherwise green body with somewhat long tails. This escapee from the pet trade is often seen in small flocks. Despite eradication attempts after its introduction in 1986 the mitred parakeet persists on the island of Maui. Originally, this species is native to ...
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Small flocks of orange-cheeked waxbills are often seen foraging in grasses for seed and small insects. They climb and hop on grass stems, sometimes dragging delicate stems to the ground to access the seed-heads. Both sexes have light brown backs, light underbellies, grey heads and orange cheek patches. Orange-cheeked waxbill, introduced to Hawaiʻi from West ...
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The red-crested cardinals are not actually related to cardinals, but are part of the tanager family instead. Regardless, their physical appearance is strikingly similar with their red head and crest while differing in their grey wings and white underbelly. This species is an introduced and well established resident in Hawaiʻi and has become a common ...
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Chestnut munias are seed-eating finches with a preference for wet areas. Males are chestnut brown with black heads and hefty silver-blue beaks. Females are light brown with no back head mask. Originally southeast Asia and Indonesia these handsome escaped pets are now naturalized in Hawaiʻi.
The scaly-breasted munia, locally known as ricebirds, is also known in the pet trade as the nutmeg mannikin. These very tiny finches often flock together to feed on grass seed. They are brown and have a dark bill and spotted breast and are popular as pets.
Java Sparrows are large, full-bodied finches measuring over 5 ½ inches long. They were first introduced to Hawaiʻi in the 1960s on Oʻahu and they spread to the other main Hawaiian Islands quickly thereafter. They feed primarily on seeds and insects. Their head, chin, rear, and tail are black while their nack, wings, and chest ...
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