Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 40, Number 5, 1 May 2023 — Kīkaha ka 'U' au [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Kīkaha ka 'U' au

NA MANU HOA V OUR BIRD FR I EN DS "

By Lisa Kapono Mason

This 'u'ou ehiek sits just outside its ground burrow on Kouo'i. With fewer thon 50 breeding poirs left, 'u'ou ore porticulorly vulneroble to predotors like cots, rots, ond mongooses. - Photo:Andre Raine/Kauo'i Endangered Seabird Recovery Project

Of all the seabirds eommon to Hawai'i, few have received as mueh notoriety as 'u'au or Hawaiian Petrel ( Pterodroma sandwichensis). These fast-flying, endangered petrels live mueh of their lives far at sea and inconspicuously return to land, typically at night, throughout the breeding season. Onee an epicurean staple, 'u'au nestlings were harvested for ali'i ffom wild burrows and artificial pāhoehoe nesting pits. Archaeological findings of thousands of pāhoehoe pits on Hawai'i Island suggest that Kānaka Maoli not only hunted 'u'au but likely raised them through a sophisticated form of avian agriculture. A compelling feature of many of these pits is the presence of non-Ha-waiian pumiee rock. Experts believe that 'u'au may have mistakenly eaten floating pumiee at sea and later regurgitated the indigestible material. 'U'au feed on squid and fish and digest the meal into a calorically rich stomach oil that is critical for meeting the nutritional needs of their young. ■ Lisa Kapono Mason was raised in Hilo and happily resides in Kea'au on the island ofHawai'i. She is a eommunity educator, conservation researcher, and native bird enthusiast with a passion to help strengthen relationships between our manu and lāhui.