Things may be looking up for the critically endangered palila, the small songbird with a yellow headfound only in the wild on Hawaii island.

Officials reported Wednesday that a pair of palila has produced six healthy nestlings at San Diego Zoo Global’s Maui Bird Conservation Center in Olinda.

"This is the first full breeding season we have had for this species at the Maui Bird Conservation Center, and we are delighted with the success," said Josh Kramer, research coordinator for San Diego Zoo Global.

Kramer said officials want to bring in two more breeding pairs next year in hopes of generating 20 chicks annually to support releases into the wild. Breeding season lasts from March to August.

The palila is found on the slopes of Mauna Kea, where it feeds on the toxic seeds of the mamane tree. While the palila evolved to develop a tolerance, the seeds are poisonous to other animals.

There are only a couple thousand palila in the wild, and they are found in less than 5 percent of their historic range, primarily due to the loss of native dryland forest habitat, scientists said.

The state maintains a fence around the palila’s Mauna Kea habitat and has been removing the feral sheep and goats that have been destroying the mamane trees there.

At the Maui Bird Conservation Center, staff members artificially incubated eggs laid by the pair and hand-reared the offspring to encourage multiple clutches from the breeding adults.

The Maui captive bird propagation center is part of the Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program, which is a field program of the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research. The program works in partnership with the state Division of Forestry and Wildlife and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Kramer said the goal is to bring the palila back from the brink of extinction.

"That’s what brings me to work every day," he said. "These birds are very charismatic, and it is very easy to fall in love with them."

While the palila is found only on Hawaii island, scientists say in prehistoric times it also lived at low elevations on Oahu.