100 Places To Remember: Kauai Hawaii, USA
Geschreven op 26-1-2010 - Erik van Erne. Geplaatst in Natuur
Hawaiian Honeycreepers Hiding in the Clouds. High in the cloud forests, where the climate is cool, live the beautiful and colourful Hawaiian honeycreepers. These rare birds use their long, downward-curved bills to sip nectar from flowers, hovering like hummingbirds and emitting a variety of sounds, from nasal squeaks to clear, flutelike calls.
The species of honeycreeper that is endemic to Hawaii lives at an elevation above 1,500 metres where the climate is too cool for mosquitoes to survive. Most of the Hawaiian honeycreepers are only 10-13 cm long and weigh no more than eight grams. They are extremely vulnerable to diseases like avian malaria.
The Hawaiian cloud forests make up one of the ecosystems that is most at risk due to climate change. Relatively small shifts in patterns could cause major local changes, putting the islands distinct ecosystems under pressure.
Deforestation and non-indigenous species like pigs and goats have decimated the honeycreepers habitat in recent years, and it is now an endangered species. With the projected rise in temperatures, mosquitoes are likely to gain a foothold at higher elevations in the Kauai mountains, slowly driving the honeycreeper to extinction.
