Island visitors and crossword afficianados alike recognize the nēnē goose as Hawai‘i’s State Bird. But did you know that there were once three species—one flightless—that all evolved from Canadian geese which made it to the archipelago some 500 million years ago?

Honolulu ARCS Scholar Patrick Hart shares information about the nēnē and more than 80 other birds found in Hawai‘i, along with audio recordings of their calls, on Hawai‘i Puiblic Radioʻs popular Manu Minute program. Dr. Hart is a professor of biology at the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo, where he founded the Listening Observatory for Hawaiian Ecosystems Laboratory, or LOHE Lab. Birdsong is serious business for Hart and his team. He has used the vocalizations in his investigations into avian social behavior as part of his research on the ecology and conservation of native Hawaiian forests and birds since he was an ARCS Scholar in 1998. His bird subjects include endangered speices.

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Pair of Nēnē geese, U.S. National Park Service photo