Natural History

Hawaii has five general vegetation zones: Beach area, Wetlands, High Bog Country, Native Forest, and Tundra.

(Some of the animals I will mention by their Hawaiian name also).

1. The first vegetation zone is the Beach Area. Some of the birds that live in the beach area are:
-Moli -The Laysan Albatross nests in shallow sand craters of sand.
-Pink Footed Shearwaters -Their habitat has been destroyed by the activities of men and dogs.

2. The Wetlands: some of the animals that live in the wetlands:
-Auku'u - The Black Crowned Night Heron is a non migratory bird and feeds on small fish and insect larvae that thrive in fresh water. --Alae-ula - This mud hen is endangered and can be found in low lands throughout the entire state.
-A'eo - the Hawaiian stilt is endemic and is now endangered.
-Pinao - This native dragonfly is larger than other Hawaiian dragonflies.
A plant from the Wetlands is the Ape Lape -The leaves of this plant have a span (or length) of 120 cm.

3.Animals from the High Bogs:
-Amakihi - This Greenish-Yellow Honey Creeper eats small insects and nectar.
-Elepaio - Though common in forests of Hawaii each island has a distinct race. They are very curious and active birds.
A plant: Koli'i Blooms - Visited by Honey Creepers for nectar. They are one of the lobelia family.

4. An animal from the Native Forest:
-I'iwi - The Scarlet Hawaiian Honey Creeper is found on the main island. They also eat fruit flies on lobelias. Their feathers were used for art such as the cape that the Royalty wore.
Plant: Koa - Koa is the largest of the Hawaiian forest trees. The wood of a koa tree is used for many things, among them is calabashes, surf boards and canoes. They are easily recognized for their gray-green sickle shaped leaves. The cool thing about the leaves are that they are not really leaves. They are called phylods. Phylods are flattened expanded versions of leaf stalks. The Koa has true leaves on the very top of the branches. The leaves look like eucalyptus leaves.

5. Tundra: the Big Island is the only island in the Hawaiian chain that has tundra. There is hardly any life there, because it is so high in altitude, and has a harsh climat.