Kauai Elepaio

Basic Description

The Kauai Elepaio is a small, lively songbird found in both native and non-native forests only on the island of Kauai. Adults are gray with a rusty wash across the breast, and white on the wings and tail. Immatures, which take two years to attain adult plumage, have cinnamon heads and rufous wingbars. Kauai Elepaio zip along trunks, branches, leaves, and even the ground in search of insects and spiders. This species is fairly common in wet native forest, but with an estimated population size of 20,000–50,000 mature birds on a single island, Kauai Elepaio is considered Near Threatened.