The target bird for the Puu Laau dry forest is the beautiful and critically endangered Palila honeycreeper. There are fewer the 2000 left and they are restricted to this dry forest. Even one fire through this area would mean the end of this species. The diet of the Palila is almost exclusively the immature seeds of māmane when these are available. These contain much vile-tasting phenolic compounds in the seed coating and a lethal amount of quinolizidine alkaloids in the embryos themselves. By some means, adult Palila are able to cope with a dose of these poisons that would kill other small animals in mere minutes. The amount of toxin in māmane varies, and the Palila can be seen to avoid certain trees. It is possible that these contain the highest amounts of poison, but how the birds would be able to recognize this is not known .

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