As regular CFZ-watchers will know, for some time Corinna has been doing a column for Animals & Men and a regular segment on On The Track... particularly about out-of-place birds and rare vagrants. There seem to be more and more bird stories from all over the world hitting the news these days so, to make room for them all - and to give them all equal and worthy coverage - she has set up this new blog to cover all things feathery and Fortean.

Sunday 26 May 2019

Near-Extinct Native Crow Builds First Nest In Decades



One of the critically rare native Hawaiian crows appears to be incubating an egg, but first-time parents are not usually successful.
By Brittany Lyte    / May 8, 2019
The Alala, or native Hawaiian crow, is extinct in the wild. In the 1990s, there were less than 20 of the birds left on earth.
In a concerted effort to save the species, Alala have been hatched and reared at the Keauhou and Maui Bird Conservation Centers as part of a partnership between the state and federal land and wildlife regulators and the San Diego Zoo. All told, 21 birds have been released into a protected forest on Hawaii Island during the last two years.
Now researchers have discovered a nest built by two birds named Manaolana and Manaiakalani. Recently, the female bird Manaiakalani has started sitting on the nest and researchers believe there could be eggs under her jet-black rump.
Two Alala, the native Hawaiian crow, have reached a new milestone, one not seen in the forests of Hawaiʻi for almost 20 years: They have built a nest. The species is extinct in the wild.
The very existence of an Alala nest is a milestone — something not seen in Hawaii forests in nearly 20 years. Since there are no adult Alala in the wild for the reintroduced birds to learn from, Manaolana and Manaiakalani were guided by instincts in assembling the nest.


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