Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 10, Number 4, 1 ʻApelila 1993 — Ke ao nani [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Ke ao nani

Naturally Hawaiian

by Patrick Ching artist/environmentalist

Noio - birds that find fortune

A flock of noddies is a weleome sight to seafaring people for it is often an indicator of good things to eome. To a voyaging

eanoe a flock of noddies means that land is near, as these birds feed relatively close to shore. To fishermen, noddies are a sign that fish are in the area. Often the noddies gather over the oeean surface to feed on small fish whieh have been

scared to the surface by schools of tuna. Such feeding behavior has earned them the niekname "aku birds" among many loeal fishermen. The noddy's diet varies with the seasons, from young flying fish (puiki) to goatfish ('oama), anchovies (nehu), mackerel scad

('ōpelu), and gobies ('o'opu). There are three types of noddies in Hawai'i. Black noddies and brown noddies are both

called noio īn Hawaiian. Brown noddies are also called noio koha (plump noio). They are larger than and may weigh nearly I twice as mueh as black noddies. The third noddy | species, the blueI gray noddy, is quite rare and nests in

crevasses on steep, rocky islands. Aside from their obvious size difference, black and brown noddies differ slightly in color, blacks being the darker of the two. Both species have light gray foreheads, whieh gradually fade to dark at the neek as if they'd been painted with an airbrush.

Juvenile birds do not have such a delicate gradation but have instead a light patch of gray on their foreheads. When nesting, hlaek noddies prefer cliff hedges, trees or shrubs where they build true nests using twigs and leaves. Brown noddies usually nest on the ground where they form mere "scrapes" in whieh to lay their eggs. Females of both species will normally lay one egg and raise one ehiek per season.

Brown and black noddies are quite eommon on the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. They also inhabit small islets near the main Hawaiian islands such as Mānana (Rabbit Island), or Moku Manu just off Mōkapu peninsula, Kāne'ohe. Some ean also be found in sea caves wilhin the main islands such as those on the Nā Pali Coast on Kaua'i, and the Hāmākua Coast on Hawai'i.