The crown jewel of Hawaiian forest birds. There are less than 2000 left in islands of humid forest surrounded not by water but by recent lava flows. These islands are called kipukas. Each Aki pair is territorial and occupies a kipuka. They only produce one egg a year further limiting their numbers. We were really lucky to get such a good look of a male in action. Hopefully they will continue to survive as they are very endangered. One can see the adaptation to the beak that allows them to eat insects in the bark. Woodpeckers cannot make the thousands of mile journey to reach the islands so the Aki evolved to fill the niche typically filled by woodpeckers. As the bird forages up and down tree trunks and across the branches, the short half of its bill hammers like that of a woodpecker, and the upper probes for insects under the bark and lichen. In living with a volcano, Aki and kipuka perform one of nature’s most remarkable balancing acts. Here you can see a male Aki in action  (Click).

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