Nene (bird)
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The Nene (Branta sandvicensis), also known as the nēnē or the Hawaiian goose, is a species of bird endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. The Nene is exclusively found in the wild on the islands of Maui, [[Kauai|KauaTemplate:Okinai]], Molokai, and [[Hawaii (island)|HawaiTemplate:Okinai]]. In 1957, it was designated as the official state bird of [[Hawaii|the state of HawaiTemplate:Okinai]].<ref>"Nene". State Symbols USA. Retrieved 21 February 2025.</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The Hawaiian name nēnē comes from its soft call.<ref name=wehewehe/> The specific name sandvicensis refers to the Sandwich Islands, a former name for the Hawaiian Islands.<ref name=DSBN/>
Taxonomy
[edit]The holotype specimen of Anser sandvicensis Vigors (List Anim. Garden Zool. Soc., ed.3, June 1833, p.4.) is held in the vertebrate zoology collection at World Museum, National Museums Liverpool, with accession number NML-VZ T12706.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The specimen was collected from the Sandwich Islands (Hawaiian Islands) and came to the Liverpool national collection via the Museum of the Zoological Society of London collection, Thomas Campbell Eyton’s collection, and Henry Baker Tristram’s collection.
It is thought that the nene evolved from the Canada goose (Branta canadensis), which most likely arrived on the Hawaiian islands about 500,000 years ago, shortly after the [[Hawaii (island)|island of HawaiTemplate:Okinai]] was formed. The Canada goose is also the ancestor of the prehistoric [[giant Hawaii goose|giant HawaiTemplate:Okinai goose]] (Branta rhuax)<ref name=NatlGeo/> and the nēnē-nui (Branta hylobadistes). The nēnē-nui was larger than the nene, varied from flightless to flighted depending on the individual, and inhabited the island of Maui. Similar fossil geese found on [[Oahu|OTemplate:Okinaahu]] and [[Kauai|KauaTemplate:Okinai]] may be of the same species. The giant HawaiTemplate:Okinai goose was restricted to the island of HawaiTemplate:Okinai and measured Template:Convert in length with a mass of Template:Convert, making it more than four times larger than the nene. It is believed that the herbivorous giant HawaiTemplate:Okinai goose occupied the same ecological niche as the goose-like ducks known as moa-nalo, which were not present on the Big Island.<ref name=Ziegler/> Based on mitochondrial DNA found in fossils, all Hawaiian geese, living and extinct, are closely related to the giant Canada goose (B. c. maxima) and dusky Canada goose (B. c. occidentalis).<ref name=NatlGeo/>
Description
[edit]The nene is a large-sized goose at Template:Convert tall. Although they spend most of their time on the ground, they are capable of flight, with some individuals flying daily between nesting and feeding areas. Females have a mass of Template:Convert, while males average Template:Convert, 11% larger than females.<ref name=Endangered/> Adult males have a black head and hindneck, buff cheeks and heavily furrowed neck.<ref name=Ellis/> The neck has black and white diagonal stripes.<ref name=Ellis/> Aside from being smaller, the female Nene is similar to the male in coloration. The adult's bill, legs and feet are black. It has soft feathers under its chin. Goslings resemble adults, but are a duller brown and with less demarcation between the colors of the head and neck, and striping and barring effects are much reduced.
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Nene gosling on Kauai
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Unison calling Kīlauea Point
Habitat and range
[edit]The nene is an inhabitant of shrubland, grassland, coastal dunes, and lava plains, and related anthropogenic habitats such as pasture and golf courses from sea level to as much as Template:Convert.<ref name=FactSheet/> Some populations migrated between lowland breeding grounds and montane foraging areas.<ref name=Cornell/>
The nene could at one time be found on the islands of [[Hawaii (island)|HawaiTemplate:Okinai]], Maui, [[Kahoolawe|KahoTemplate:Okinaolawe]], [[Lanai|LānaTemplate:Okinai]], [[Molokai|MolokaTemplate:Okinai]], Oʻahu and [[Kauai|KauaTemplate:Okinai]]. Today, its range is restricted to HawaiTemplate:Okinai, Maui, MolokaTemplate:Okinai, and KauaTemplate:Okinai. A pair arrived at the James Campbell National Wildlife Refuge on Oʻahu in January 2014; two of their offspring survived and are seen regularly on the nearby golf courses at Turtle Bay Resort.
Ecology and behavior
[edit]Breeding
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The breeding season of the nene, from August to April, is longer than that of any other goose;<ref name=Audubon/> most eggs are laid between November and January.<ref name=Endangered/> Unlike most other waterfowl, the nene mates on land.<ref name=Ellis/> Nests are built by females on a site of her choosing, in which one to five eggs are laid (average is three on Maui and HawaiTemplate:Okinai, four on KauaTemplate:Okinai). Females incubate the eggs for 29 to 32 days, while the male acts as a sentry. Goslings are precocial, able to feed on their own; they remain with their parents until the following breeding season.<ref name=Endangered/>
Diet
[edit]The nene is a herbivore that will either graze or browse, depending on the availability of vegetation. Food items include the leaves, seeds, fruit, and flowers of grasses and shrubs.<ref name=FactSheet/>
Conservation
[edit]The nene population stands at 3,862 birds, making it the world's rarest goose.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It is believed that it was once common, with approximately 25,000 Hawaiian geese living in HawaiTemplate:Okinai when Captain James Cook arrived in 1778.<ref name=Ellis/> Hunting and introduced predators, such as small Indian mongooses, pigs, and feral cats, reduced the population to 30 birds by 1952.<ref name=Ellis/> The species breeds well in captivity, and has been successfully re-introduced. In 2004, it was estimated that there were 800 birds in the wild, as well as 1,000 in wildfowl collections and zoos.<ref name=Ellis/> There is concern about inbreeding due to the small initial population of birds. The nature reserve WWT Slimbridge, in England, was instrumental in the successful breeding of Hawaiian geese in captivity. Under the direction of conservationist Peter Scott, it was bred back from the brink of extinction during the 1950s for later re-introduction into the wild in HawaiTemplate:Okinai. There are still Hawaiian geese at Slimbridge today. They can now be found in captivity in multiple WWT centres. Successful introductions include Haleakalā and [[Piiholo|PiTemplate:Okinaiholo]] ranches on Maui.<ref name=dlnr/><ref name=edf/> NatureServe considers the species Imperiled.<ref name="ns"/>
References
[edit]External links
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