Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 40, Number 10, 1 October 2023 — 'Ulili ma ka Hu'a Kai [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

'Ulili ma ka Hu'a Kai

V NA MANU HOA V ^ OUR BIRD FRIENDS "

īhe 'ūlili breeds in the nrctic and enn be found ns fnr south ns Austrnlin in the wintering senson. This bird's non-breeding plumoge is unossuming ond provides greot comoufloge along Howoi'i's shorelines. Photos: Ann īanimoto Johnson/ LOHE Lah

In a subsiding tidepool, a yellow-legged cloudy gray sandpiper rhythmically bends at the water's surface, dancing along the exposed pāhoehoe flats and shallow whitewash. With onomatopoetic trills and piping calls, we know the hungry and energetic ulili ( Tringa ineana ) has returned to Hawai'i. 'Ulili, also known as the "wandering tattler," ffequent rocky shorelines and feed on small fish and invertebrates. A seasonal migrant, ulili arrive en masse in late summer ffom Alaska and northwestern Canada and soon afterward disperse. They are generally solitary, although sometimes seen in small groups, and unusually territorial during the non-breeding season.

An enticing guide and eapahle messenger in Hawaiian mythology, 'Ūlili helped guide the lost ghost of Lohi'au (the handsome yet blundering lover of both Pele and Hi'iaka) to Kahiki to find solace after his murder. In another story, 'Ulili and Kōlea are dispatched by the great Kapepe'ekauila of Moloka'i to defend his stolen wife, Hina, from her rescuers, her estranged husband and sons. ■ Lisa Kapono Mason was raised in Hilo and happily resides in Kea'au on the island of Hawai'i. She is a community educator, conservation researcher, and native bird enthusiast with a passion to help strengthen relationships between our manu and lāhui.

'Ūlili's Lotin nome Tringo, o genus of woding shorebirds, has roots in oncient Greek to meon o type of old-world bird with on errotic bobbing toil. - Photos: Ann īanimoto Johnson/ LOHE Lab