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white-faced ibis

Posted on Dec 17, 2020 in

This visiting ibis has a glossy dark body with reddish neck, head, and chest. Its bill is long and curved with a white transition between bill and face stretching around the eye from which it gets its name. Their native range is typically North and South America.

snow goose

Posted on Dec 17, 2020 in

An all-white goose with an orange-pink bill and legs, and black wing tips especially visible in flight. A visitor to Hawai’i from North America in winter months.

sharp-tailed sandpiper

Posted on Dec 17, 2020 in

Sharp-tailed sandpipers are visually very similar to the pectoral sandpiper but can be distinguished by having more red on the head cap and less defined transition of strips between the chest and belly.

pectoral sandpiper

Posted on Dec 17, 2020 in

The pectoral sandpiper is a visiting species from the Americas to the Hawaiian Islands, usually arriving in fall and sometimes overwintering. It’s sturdy build, yellowish legs, and thin contrasted streaks of chest feathers ending sharply at the belly can distinguish it from the least sandpiper.

blue-winged teal

Posted on Dec 17, 2020 in

This small visiting duck from North and Central America is found in ponds and marshes feeding on surface plants. As their name suggests, blue-winged teals have blue wing feathers visible when in flight. Males have a white facial crescent, faintly visible on females, and dark colored bodies. Both sexes have black bills.

ring-necked duck

Posted on Dec 10, 2020 in

Female ring-necked ducks have dark bodies with a white ring around their eyes, while males are black and white with a faint ring around their lower neck. Ring-neck ducks are diving ducks that prefer smaller bodies of water. They are visitors to Hawaiʻi from North America

least sandpiper

Posted on Dec 7, 2020 in

Minutilla, meaning “very small” is an appropriate Latin name for the least sandpiper. This winter visitor may be difficult to distinguish from other small shorebirds, but is generally smaller, with short yellow legs and a black beak that is slightly curved downward at the tip.

laughing gull

Posted on Dec 7, 2020 in

This coastal gull is known for its distinctive laughing call. Laughing gulls have recognizable sharply defined black hoods and red beaks during summer months which is lost to greyish plumage and black beaks in the winter, when they are seen in Hawai’i visiting.

green-winged teal

Posted on Dec 7, 2020 in

Green-winged Teals are small ducks and visitors to Hawai’i. Males and females in non breeding plumage have brown mottled bodies. Males have chestnut brown heads with green iridescent eye masks and acquire elaborate grey, black, and white bodies during the breeding season.

greater scaup

Posted on Dec 7, 2020 in

This visitor from the continents of the Norther Hemisphere is a medium sized diving duck with yellow eyes. Males have rounded, dark heads with light blue bills and grey, white and black bodies. Females have dark heads with white near the beak and brown bodies.

bufflehead

Posted on Dec 7, 2020 in

Visiting buffleheads from North America are active divers. Males are black and white and have iridescent green and purple heads with large distinguished white patches behind the eye wrapping around the back of the head. Females are brown with small white patches behind the eyes. Both sexes are small, but have what could be described ...
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American wigeon

Posted on Dec 7, 2020 in

This visiting, medium-sized duck is found in open marshes and wetlands. Both sexes have round heads with short necks and light blue bills. Males in the breeding season disply a green eye mask and white head cap. Females and non-breeding males are brown. The American wigeon is a highly vocal species. It is often be ...
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Canada goose

Posted on Aug 8, 2017 in

If you’re lucky, you may spot a Canada goose floating in a pond enjoying its winter vacation. These large geese can be two to three feet in size, characterized by their brown body and long black neck and head with white throat. A diverse species of goose, many forms have been spotted in Hawaiʻi.

cackling goose

Posted on Aug 8, 2017 in

At around 2 feet long, the visiting cackling goose is a smaller goose with black head, white chin strap, a long black neck, brown body feathers, and a white undertail. They are noisy birds with a loud honking call and a high-pitched, squeaking cackle. They are usually found in open ponds near the coast, especially ...
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