Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 12, Number 4, 1 April 1995 — Ke ao nani Naturally Hawaiian [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Ke ao nani Naturally Hawaiian

by Patrick Ching artist/environmentalist

The kōlea take flight

Memories of the night bird go back a long way. Sometimes, on a moonlit evening, I would bid my parents g'night, grab a sleeping bag, and make my way through the golf course fronting our house. The vast fairways were desolate except for a few scattered trees and a budding young naturalist in search of his soul.

My presence was heralded by

the alert e r i e s of the night M

birds whieh I called "sandpipers." Finding my spot, I'd spread out my bag and fall asleep to the sparkle of stars and the whistling calls of the sandpipers in flight. In the morning I'd awaken to the sounds of the birds and an occasional golf ball whizzing past my head. I'd roll up my sleeping bag and trudge off to

school. During certain seasons the sandpipers were gone. I wondered why. As I inquired I eame to learn that the birds whieh I called "nightbirds" or "sandpipers" were actually Pacific golden plovers, known to Hawaiians as kōlea. Literally, kōlea means boastful or proud, whieh may refer to the birds' posture and actinns

The kolea spend their winters in

Hawai'i and other Pacific Islands.

In April they begin to congregate and sport their breeding

plumage: the males have black underparts bordered with a white stripe and topped with gold speckling; the females have a more mottled appearance. The birds gain body weight and fat to prepare them for their long north-

ward migration to their breeding grounds in Alaska and Siberia. The nonstop flight may take two to

four days. A few birds will remain in Hawai'i yearround. In August the kōlea return to Hawai'i, usually to the very same area whieh they oeeu-

pied the previous year. They are territorial birds and prey on insects, snails and crustaceans. The size of their territory depends on the abundance of food in the area. The kōlea was known as a messenger or informant in Hawaiian lore. Ancient voyagers may have used the birds to help find land, knowing that the birds used the islands as stepping stones along their migration routes.

A male Paeilie golden plover or kōlea sporting its distinctive breeding plumage.