‘Ua’u
Lahi, a boy living in Wainiha Valley, refused all food except the flesh of birds, but as most birds were small it was a problem to know how to satisfy his hunger, so he and his uncle repaired to the sea cliffs where the ‘uwa’u nested. There they saw that the birds were well cared for and increased, but they also had their fill of roasted birds, “the size of chickens.” Lahi had superhuman powers and became known as Birdman, but was not known to assume bird form as did Lepe-a-moa, the chicken girl whose story is told in a previous section, “Moa and the Pele Migration.”
Native Planters In Old Hawaii Their Life, Lore, and Environment, by E. S. Craighill Handy and Elizabeth Green Handy with the collaboration of Mary Kawena Pukui (1991)1
The ‘ua’u, or Hawaiian petrel (Pterodroma sandwichensis), is a beautiful endemic seabird observed on the main Hawaiian Islands during its breeding season from March to October. During the rest of the year, ‘ua’u are pelagic, spending their time over the open ocean, generally to the north and west of the Hawaiian Islands. The Native Hawaiian people named the ‘ua’u for its distinct call, “oo-ah-oo.” Birds also make yapping and barking sounds when occupying their nesting burrows.
The ‘ua’u is approximately 16 inches long with a wingspan of about 3 feet. Its head, long and narrow wings, and short tail are gray to black. The bird’s forehead and underparts are white and feet are black and pink. ‘Ua’u feed extensively at night, resting on the surface of the water and seizing squid, fish, and crustaceans. Their bills are hooked, which enables them to tear pieces from large squid and other foods too large to be swallowed whole. They pass food to their chicks by regurgitation.
‘Ua’u nest on the ground in burrows they dig 3 to 6 feet long from entrance to nesting chamber. They also nest in natural crevices, such as lava tubes. ‘U’au are monogamous, produce only one (white) egg a year, and do not replace lost eggs. The downy chicks are charcoal-gray.
In traditional times, ‘ua’u were eaten. Young birds were considered a delicacy and reserved for ali’i (chiefs). Adult birds required salting to mask their strong, fishy flavor. The birds were broiled on hot coals or delicious cooked in lau ki (ti leaves) with lu’au (taro leaves) and haha (taro stalks). When too many birds were gathered, they were salted and stored until needed. Before the birds were cooked and eaten, they were soaked to remove the salt. Vertebrate zoologist Alan Ziegler believes that the large numbers of ‘ua’u found in caves in the Saddle Area of the Big Island were caught, prepared, and stored for consumption by specialists and couriers traveling to and from the Mauna Kea adze quarry, Keanakako’i.
Methods of capturing ‘ua’u and other seabirds included catching adult birds by hand, netting them as they flew to or from the mountains, and placing nets over burrow entrances. Other techniques involved long sticks split on one end or smeared with birdlime, used to entangle downy chicks and remove them from the burrows. According to one account, ‘ua’u and other seabirds were caught with hook-and-line and nets. In Hamakua on the Big Island, fires were made along the coast at night, and as the birds flew in from the sea, they became disoriented and were easily caught in scoop nets. A Hawaiian proverb notes the use of ‘ie’ie (Freycinetia arborea) roots gummed at one end to catch juveniles in burrows. Another proverb notes that when the ‘a’o (Newell’s shearwater) fledglings emerged, the season had come when young ‘ua’u were best for eating, and the people went to snare them.
Hundreds of thousands of ‘ua’u must have occurred in the past. They nested on all of the main islands, except Ni’ihau, from sea level to at least mid-elevations. On Moloka’i, ‘ua’u were so numerous at one time, they darkened the sky in Pelekunu Valley. The ‘ua’u is the most frequently occurring bird found in “fossil” remains on the ‘Ewa Plain on O’ahu and in a lava tube on Hualalai on the Big Island. Native Hawaiian kupuna (elders) at the turn of the century remembered vast breeding grounds on lava in the saddle between Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea.
‘U’au suffered serious declines in the both prehistoric and historic periods. Traditional hunting and predation by the Polynesian rat, dogs, and pigs eliminated ‘ua’u populations in the lowlands prior to Western contact. In the historic period, predation by feral cats, mongooses, dogs, pigs, and all three species of rat now present in Hawai’i, combined with large-scale habitat loss and degradation by humans and introduced hoofed mammals, have taken their toll. Hunters were using dogs to locate nests on the islands in the early 1900s, and mongooses were occupying nesting burrows on thousand-meter cliffs on Moloka’i at around the same time. Sadly, humans and their introductions have pushed the ‘ua’u to the brink of extinction.
Today, nesting ‘ua’u are found only in the upper elevations. The main nesting population of approximately 500 breeding pairs occurs in Haleakala National Park on Maui. The second major nesting colony occurs in Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park on Hawai’i. Additional nesting colonies still occur on Kaua’i and Moloka’i, and possibly on Lana’i at Kumoa Gulch and Lana’ihale. Nesting may also be occurring on some of the offshore islets around the main Hawaiian Islands. ‘U’au are no longer found on O’ahu and Kaho’olawe.
In 1967, the ‘ua’u was listed as an endangered species under a precursor to the federal Endangered Species Act. A recovery plan was prepared for the ‘ua’u and ‘a’o in 1983. The current population of ‘ua’u is estimated in the thousands to low tens of thousands. The primary threat to the ‘ua’u is predation by introduced rats, cats, mongooses, and dogs. Even a small number of predators have a significant affect. ‘U’au deaths ceased after a single feral cat was removed from one nesting area on the Big Island. Habitat destruction by introduced hoofed mammals, ocean pollution, land development, and human disturbance of nesting areas pose additional threats to the ‘ua’u.
On their initial flight to the sea, ‘ua’u and other fledglings also become disoriented by lights and may fly into utility lines and other obstacles. Once grounded, they are vulnerable to predation and being struck by automobiles. Fledglings have been recovered in Kapa’a, Hanalei, Waimea, and other areas on Kaua’i. In the early 1990s, concerned citizens took legal action to prevent the construction of tall, multi-wire, electric utility poles at Kalihiwai on Kaua’i, an important flyway for the ‘a’o and ‘ua’u. Under a settlement agreement, Kaua’i Electric Company will not apply for permits to construct new transmission lines along Kalihiwai Road until 2004.
At the current rate of low reproduction and high levels of predation, the ‘ua’u could go extinct in the next generation or two. Long-term predator control is required. Flyways also should be identified, lighting modified, and high obstacles prohibited, providing fledglings the greatest chance to reach their ocean habitat.
— Marjorie Ziegler
- 1. Additional information sources on the ‘u’au can be found in: The Works of the People of Old Na Hana A Ka Po’e Kahiko, by S. M. Kamakau (1976); Seabirds of Hawaii Natural History and Conservation, by C. S. Harrison (1990); and Evolution, Ecology, Conservation, and Management of Hawaiian Birds: A Vanishing Avifauna, by J. M. Scott, S. Conant, and C. Van Riper, III, eds. (2001) (see articles by C. S. Natividad Hodges and R. J. Nagata, Sr., and D. Hu, et al.)
Volume 13, Number 12 June 2003
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