‘Akiapōlā’au

The extremely rare ‘Akiapōlā’au are only found on Hawai’i Island at over 5,000 ft in elevation. These avian marvels use their unique beak similar to a woodpecker. The bottom bill is used to peck holes in bark while the top bill is a probe to pick out insects. They have also been seen drilling holes in ‘Ōhi’a to drink sap. It’s estimated that there are roughly 1,000 birds left in the wild. Fun fact: the females have slighter smaller bills and prefer smaller tree branches whereas the males prefer larger branches and trunks. They are slow reproducers, only breeding every other year and producing one egg per nest with a 50% survival rate. These birds are a testament to the incredible process of adaptive radiation that we see in our islands! 

2.7”x3.5” weatherproof vinyl sticker