Habitat
Palila occur only in dry subalpine forest between 2,000 and 3,000 meters (6,600–9,800 feet) elevation on Mauna Kea on the island of Hawaii. They are most common in forests where mamane is the dominant tree, but in some parts of Palila’s range naio trees are more common due to long-term browsing of mamane by sheep and other ungulates.
Back to topFood
Palila feed mainly on mamane seeds. They use their heavy bill to cut the stem of a mamane seed pod and then transfer the pod to a foot. While holding down the pod with the foot, Palila rip off the outer covering of the pod, bite a seed to remove the seed coat, and then remove and eat the seed embryo. They generally do not eat all the seed embryos in a pod before dropping it and moving on in search of another. Palila also eat mamane flowers, naio fruit, and caterpillars. They forage primarily near the ends of branches in the canopy of trees, where seed pods and flowers are located.
Back to topNesting
Nest Placement
Most commonly placed in the canopy of a large mamane tree, usually near the end of a branch.
Nest Description
A cup made from a mix of sticks and grasses and lined with lichens, fine grasses, and rootlets.
Nesting Facts
| Egg Description: | Whitish with small, reddish-brown speckles and blotches concentrated at the wide end. |
Behavior
Palila hop or flit through the canopy while foraging for seeds and flowers. They make long flights over the forest canopy, moving through the sky in strong, undulating flight. Palila are monogamous, with pairs staying together both within and between nesting seasons. The female incubates the eggs and performs most brooding, while both sexes contribute to feeding the young. Outside of the breeding season, Palila form loose, noisy flocks.
Back to topConservation
The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists Palila's conservation status as Critically Endangered due to an extremely small range, extremely small population size, and a population decline exceeding 50% in three generations. The entire population of 800–1,200 mature individuals is restricted to the southwestern slope of Mauna Kea and is highly vulnerable to fire. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lists Palila as Endangered. Habitat loss and degradation—caused by introduced ungulates—and the spread of avian malaria by introduced mosquitoes has resulted in Palila’s current confinement to a tiny fraction of its historical range.
Back to topCredits
Banko, P. C., L. Johnson, G. D. Lindsey, S. G. Fancy, T. K. Pratt, J. D. Jacobi, and W. E. Banko (2020). Palila (Loxioides bailleui), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (A. F. Poole and F. B. Gill, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.palila.01
BirdLife International. 2023. Loxioides bailleui. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2023: e.T22720742A222477278. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2023-1.RLTS.T22720742A222477278.en.
Floyd, T. (2025). Field Guide to the Birds of the United States and Canada. Eighth edition. National Geographic Society, Washington, D.C.
Floyd, Ted (2025). Field Guide to the Birds of the United States and Canada. Eighth edition. National Geographic Society, Washington, D.C.
Pratt, H.D., Bruner, P.L. and Berrett, D.G. (1987). A Field Guide to the Birds of Hawaii and the Tropical Pacific. Princeton Univ. Press, Princeton, New Jersey.
Raine, H. and A. F. Raine (2020). American Birding Association Field Guide to Birds of Hawai'i. Scott & Nix, Inc. New York, NY, USA.
Stokes, L. Q. and M. A. Young (2024). The Stokes Guide to Finches of the United States and Canada. Little, Brown and Company, New York, NY, USA.