Hawaii creeper re-christened as alawi

HILO >> After more than a century without its traditional Hawaiian name, a small, endangered bird has returned to its Hawaiian roots.

The Hawaii Tribune-Herald reports conservation managers and government officials gathered Wednesday at Pu‘u Maka‘ala Natural Area Reserve for a ceremony to give the Hawaii creeper its rediscovered Hawaiian name: alawi.

Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park Ranger Noah Gomes came across the name while working on his master’s thesis on Hawaiian bird-catchers at the University of Hawaii at Hilo.

Kauai bird-culling bill signed

A measure aimed at reducing the population of rose-ringed parakeets was signed into law Thursday on Kauai by Gov. David Ige.

Ige signed House Bill 655, sponsored by state Rep. Nadine Nakamura (D, ­Hanalei-Princeville-Kapaa) on the lawn at Grove Farm Homestead and Museum in Lihue, the Garden Island reported.

“(The species) has had a tremendous impact on the island,” Ige said. “It’s one of the most widespread invasive species on the planet.”

The bill provides $75,000 to the Department of Natural Resources to supplement research at the U.S. Department of Agriculture to allow population mapping, counting, mitigation techniques and ultimately the development of a control plan to reduce the negative impact of these birds, Ige said.

The rose-ringed parakeet was introduced to the Garden Isle in the 1960s, and the population has grown to an estimated 5,000.