The Hawaiian coot (''Fulica alai''), also known as the alae ke'oke'o'' in Hawaiian, is a

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

in the

rail Rail or rails may refer to: Rail transport *Rail transport and related matters *Rail (rail transport) or railway lines, the running surface of a railway Arts and media Film * ''Rails'' (film), a 1929 Italian film by Mario Camerini * ''Rail'' ( ...

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Rallidae The rails, or Rallidae, are a large cosmopolitan family of small- to medium-sized, ground-living birds. The family exhibits considerable diversity and includes the crakes, coots, and gallinules. Many species are associated with wetlands, althoug ...

, that is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

. In Hawaiian, ''alae'' is a noun and means ''mud hen''. ''Kea'' or its synonym ''keo'' is an adjective for ''white''. It is similar to the

American coot The American coot (''Fulica americana''), also known as a mud hen or pouldeau, is a bird of the family Rallidae. Though commonly mistaken for ducks, American coots are only distantly related to ducks, belonging to a separate order. Unlike the we ...

at in length and weighing around . It has black plumage and a prominent white

frontal shield A frontal shield, also known as a facial shield or frontal plate, is a feature of the anatomy of several bird species. Located just above the upper mandible, and protruding along the forehead, it is composed of two main parts: a hard, proteinaceo ...

. Its natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s are freshwater

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

s, freshwater

marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...

es, coastal saline

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') a ...

s, and water storage areas. The bird was federally listed in October 1970 as an endangered species and is considered both endemic and endangered by the state of Hawaii. It is threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

and introduced predators such as the

small Asian mongoose Small Asian mongoose is a common name applied to two mammals which were formerly considered to be a single species: * Javan mongoose *Small Indian mongoose The small Indian mongoose (''Urva auropunctata'') is a mongoose species native to Iraq an ...

. The Makalawena Marsh on the Big Island of Hawaii has been listed as a

National Natural Landmark The National Natural Landmarks (NNL) Program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only national natural areas program that identifies and recognizes the best ...

to preserve one of its last nesting areas.

Endangered Species Listing

The Hawaiian coot was federally listed in October 1970 as an endangered species and is considered both endemic and endangered by the state of Hawaii. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service's 5-year review, conducted in 2010, found that none of the four criteria established for delisting or downlisting of the species had been meet.United States Fish and Wildlife Service. 2010. Hawaiian coot or ‘alae ke’oke’o (Fulica alai) 5-Year Review Summary and Evaluation. USFWS Pacific Island Fish and Wildlife Office, Honolulu, HI, 11 pp. The delisting/downlisting criteria include protection and management of core and supporting wetlands, a population size greater than 2000 birds for five consecutive years, and multiple self-sustaining populations throughout the Hawaiian Islands.

Taxonomy

The first reference to a coot in the

Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands ( haw, Nā Mokupuni o Hawai‘i) are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kur ...

was by

Andrew Bloxam Andrew Bloxam (22 September 1801 – 2 February 1878) was an English clergyman and naturalist; in his later life he had a particular interest in botany. He was the naturalist on board during its voyage around South America and the Pacific in 18 ...

, who encountered the Hawaiian coot but failed to collect a specimen as he mistook it for the

Eurasian coot The Eurasian coot (''Fulica atra''), also known as the common coot, or Australian coot, is a member of the rail and crake bird family, the Rallidae. It is found in Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and parts of North Africa. It has a slaty-bla ...

, ''Fulica atra'', while in the islands in 1825 as the naturalist on board . It is now considered either to be a separate species, ''Fulica alai'', or a subspecies of the

, ''Fulica americana alai''.

Population size

On Oahu, Maui, Molokai and Kaua’i, the Hawaiian coot was previously abundant in coastal brackish and fresh-water ponds, streams, and marshes; however, the first censuses conducted in the 1950s and 1960s detected fewer than 1,000 birds statewide. Since the 1960s, the interannual population size has fluctuated from less than 1,000 birds to over 3,000, and appears to be gradually increasing. Biannual surveys conducted by the Hawaiian Department of Land and Natural Resource's Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) found that between 1998 and 2003 the inter-island coot population averaged 2,100 birds, ranging between 1,500 and 3,000 birds.United States Fish and Wildlife Service. 2005. Draft Revised Recovery Plan for Hawaiian Waterbirds, Second Draft of Second Revision, Portland, Oregon, 155 pp. Available online at . Recent surveys estimated winter populations fluctuating around 1,500 birds and a summer population fluctuating around 2,000 birds.

Gallery

Image:Hawaiian Coot RWD3.jpg, Hawaiian coot with white frontal shield Image:Hawaiian Coot RWD6.jpg, Hawaiian coot with red frontal shield Image:Fulica alai.jpg, Hawaiian coot with red frontal shield

References

External links

BirdLife Species Factsheet.
{{Taxonbar, from=Q378449

Hawaiian coot The Hawaiian coot (''Fulica alai''), also known as the alae ke'oke'o'' in Hawaiian, is a bird in the rail family, Rallidae, that is endemic to Hawaii. In Hawaiian, ''alae'' is a noun and means ''mud hen''. ''Kea'' or its synonym ''keo'' is an ad ...

Endemic birds of Hawaii

Taxonomy articles created by Polbot ESA endangered species Taxa named by Titian Peale