Nene (bird)

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Nene
At Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge, Hawaii, USA

Near Threatened (IUCN 3.1)[1]
CITES Appendix I (CITES)[2]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Anseriformes
Family: Anatidae
Genus: Branta
Species:
B. sandvicensis
Binomial name
Branta sandvicensis
(Vigors, 1834)
Synonyms
  • Nesochen sandvicensis
  • Branta sandwichensis

The nene (Branta sandvicensis), also known as the nēnē or the Hawaiian goose, is a

endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. The nene is exclusively found in the wild on the islands of Oahu,[3] Maui, Kauaʻi, Molokai, and Hawaiʻi. In 1957, it was designated as the official state bird of the state of Hawaiʻi.[4]

The Hawaiian name nēnē comes from its soft call.[5] The specific name sandvicensis refers to the Sandwich Islands, a former name for the Hawaiian Islands.[6]

Taxonomy

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.[7] 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

giant Hawaiʻi goose (Branta rhuax)[8] and 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 Oʻahu and Kauaʻi may be of the same species. The giant Hawaiʻi goose was restricted to the island of Hawaiʻi and measured 1.2 m (3.9 ft) in length with a mass of 8.6 kg (19 lb), making it more than four times larger than the nene. It is believed that the herbivorous giant Hawaiʻi goose occupied the same ecological niche as the goose-like ducks known as moa-nalo, which were not present on the Big Island.[9] 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).[8]

Description

The nene is a large-sized goose at 41 cm (16 in) 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 1.525–2.56 kg (3.36–5.64 lb), while males average 1.695–3.05 kg (3.74–6.72 lb), 11% larger than females.[10] Adult males have a black head and hindneck, buff cheeks and heavily furrowed neck.[11] The neck has black and white diagonal stripes.[11] Aside from being smaller, the female Nene is similar to the male in colouration. 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.

  • Nene gosling on Kauai
    Nene gosling on Kauai
  • Unison calling Kīlauea Point
    Unison calling
    Kīlauea Point

Habitat and range

The nene is an inhabitant of

lava plains, and related anthropogenic habitats such as pasture and golf courses from sea level to as much as 2,400 m (7,900 ft).[12] Some populations migrated between lowland breeding grounds and montane foraging areas.[13]

The nene could at one time be found on the islands of

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

Breeding

Nēnē egg specimens

The breeding season of the nene, from August to April, is longer than that of any other goose;

precocial, able to feed on their own; they remain with their parents until the following breeding season.[10]

Diet

The nene is a

Conservation

The nene population stands at 3,862 birds, making it the world's rarest goose.

Haleakala and Piʻiholo ranches on Maui.[16][17] NatureServe considers the species Imperiled.[18]

References

  1. . Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  2. ^ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  3. ^ "Nene geese on Oahu for first time since 1700s". Hawaii News Now. 24 March 2014. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
  4. ^ "59 Hawaii Facts". Meet The USA. 2022.
  5. ^ Pukui & Elbert (2003). "Lookup of nēnē". Ulukau, the Hawaiian Electronic Library. University of Hawaiʻi. Retrieved 13 January 2010.
  6. .
  7. ^ R. Wagstaffe (1978-12-01). Type Specimens of Birds in the Merseyside County Museums (formerly City of Liverpool Museums).
  8. ^ a b Harder, Ben (6 February 2002). "State Bird of Hawaii Unmasked as Canadian". National Geographic News. National Geographic Society. Archived from the original on February 10, 2002. Retrieved 17 March 2009.
  9. .
  10. ^ .
  11. ^ .
  12. ^ a b "Nene or Hawaiian Goose" (PDF). State of Hawaiʻi. 20 May 2022.
  13. Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology
    . Retrieved 18 March 2009.
  14. ^ "Hawaiian Goose (Branta sandvicensis)". Audubon Watchlist. National Audubon Society. Archived from the original on 8 January 2012. Retrieved 18 March 2009.
  15. ^ "The Plight of the Nēnē".
  16. ^ "Safe Harbor Agreement for the introduction of the nene to Piiholo Ranch, Maui" (PDF). State of Hawaii, Department of Land and Natural Resources. August 2004. Retrieved 13 January 2010.
  17. ^ Standley, Bill (August 2004). "Ranchers Advance Recovery of Rare Hawaiian Bird". Environmental Defense Fund. Archived from the original on 24 January 2011. Retrieved 13 January 2010.
  18. ^ "Branta sandvicensis. NatureServe Explorer 2.0". explorer.natureserve.org. Retrieved 24 April 2023.

External links