Caught red-handed!

Or red-beaked, I should say....

This Northern Cardinal was feasting on poha berries in the garden this morning, when I spotted him. This is just about as close as I've been able to come to a cardinal, or any bird for that matter.

The composition of Hawaii's avifauna is bittersweet. Anywhere in the lowlands you can hear a myriad of tropical bird songs at dawn--the phenomenon strongly reminds me of my visit of Central America a few years ago--but sadly, none of these songs are being sung by native birds. No species of Hawaiian songbird exists in the lowlands anymore. Introduced rats, cats, pigs, and mongooses having been preying on the birds and their eggs and disturbing key habitat for decades. Introduced species of birds from Asia and the Americas compete for nesting grounds and food. And now, most critically, avian malaria--against which these perpetually isolated species have no immunity or defense--is further decimating their populations. Here on the Big Island, to see any of the precious few native songbirds, one must travel above 5,000-6,000 feet, to where the native forests are still intact and mosquitos don't roam.

This Northern Cardinal is a handsome bird, and I can't really blame him for his ancestors escaping from a cage in Honolulu in the 1920's and consequently running amuck across the islands. If I was bird, I'd like it here too.