#charadrii

Day 24 of Avian August 2025, Birds of Hawaii, hosted by @cookiedoves: Kukuluaeʻo, Aeʻo, or Hawaiian Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus knudseni)

The Hawaiian Stilt is an endangered subspecies of the black-necked stilt found only in the Hawaiian Islands. It is one of the longest-legged birds relative to its body size, with legs making up about 60% of its height. Its Hawaiian name, Kukuluaeʻo, means “one who stands tall.”

[2995/11080] Double-striped thick-knee - Burhinus bistriatus

Note: Clements places this bird in the genus Hesperoburhinus.

Order: Charadriiformes Suborder: Charadrii Family: Burhinidae (stone-curlews)

American oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus)

Prowling cat decimates banded dotterel colony for second breeding season | Stuff.co.nz

A lone cat is thought to be responsible for another disastrous breeding season at an embattled native shorebird colony.

A solitary fledgling was tagged this season at the Eastbourne banded dotterel colony, the lone survivor from 14 nests established along the roughly 300-metre long stretch of beach on the eastern shores of Wellington Harbour in Lower Hutt.

Parker Jones, co-ordinator from the Mainland Island Restoration Organisation (MIRO), said it appeared a domestic tabby cat, which had repeatedly been caught on camera terrorising the colony, all but wiped out the eggs and chicks. It is believed the same cat had been responsible for predating the colony last year, when not a single bird born at the site survived.

The cat had evaded a live catch trap at the beach. A trapping programme that targets most other mammalian predators protects the colony.

The ground nesting birds, which the Department of Conservation classifies as nationally vulnerable, typically lay three eggs per nest.

Many of the dotterel pairs had renested two or three times and Jones said it had been hard for volunteers monitoring the site to keep finding the chicks disappearing overnight.

[2949/11080] Diademed sandpiper-plover - Phegornis mitchellii

Order: Charadriiformes Suborder: Charadrii Family: Charadriidae

[2986/11080] Double-banded plover - Charadrius bicinctus

Note: Clements places this bird in the genus Anarhynchus.

Order: Charadriiformes Suborder: Charadrii Family: Charadriidae Subfamily: Charadriinae (plovers)