Forty Years On The Pacific/Bird Life of Hawaii

THE plantations in the Hawaiian Islands suffered from many pests, chiefly rats. Mynah birds were introduced from India into Hawaii and Tahiti. They became a great nuisance, and means were taken to drive them out of Hawaii. These were largely successful. In Tahiti they overran the island, where they will attack and rob pigeon nests. In time, the mongoose, which had been introduced to kill rats in Hawaii, became a menace, and now a parasitic insect has been introduced to destroy the mongoose.

Pheasants were introduced into Honolulu by Mr. S. M. Damon, but they increased very slowly owing to the ravages of the mongoose. Noting this, Mr. Damon imported some expert gamekeepers from Scotland who had done excellent service in exterminating the mongoose. The result was that two thousand of these animals were destroyed in one month in Moanalau Park, near Honolulu.

Bird life in the Hawaiian Islands is not plentiful to-day owing to the encroachments of man and the progress of civilization. On Hawaii, in the forests immediately surrounding the active Kilauea volcano, are found descendants of the birds of ancient times, from which were plucked the feathers used to fashion the wonderfully gorgeous cloaks worn by the native kings and chiefs. These are practically all that remains of the original bird life in the islands. The Mynah bird and English sparrow are the most numerous of the winged inhabitants. There are also a number of doves left.

There never have been any poisonous snakes in the islands, the governments having been always particularly rigid in preventing the introduction of reptiles. One may roam in the forests of the mountains, among grasses and underbrush, without fear of coming in contact with snakes. And while I think of it, so far as I can discover, there are no poisonous land-snakes to be found on any Pacific Islands with the exception of New Guinea (Papua).