Manu Minute: The murmuring Nēnē

By Patrick Hart,

Ann Tanimoto-Johnson, Savannah Harriman-Pote

Published November 10, 2021 at 3:59 PM HST

Ways To Subscribe

1 of 5 — Image 1: Nēnē pair

Nēnē are the state birds of Hawaiʻi. The literal translation of the word Nēnē in ʻŌlelo Hawaii means “to chirp, as a cricket; to croak, or whimpering as a sleeping infant.”

Ann Tanimoto-Johnson

2 of 5 — Image 2: Nēnē pair in flight

While Nēnē are strong fliers, they are closely related to a long-extinct giant flightless goose from Hawaiʻi Island that was about four times their size.

Ann Tanimoto-Johnson

3 of 5 — Image 3: Nēnē

Nēnē are 24-27 inches in length and mostly brown with black faces. They have a dark furrow pattern on their long, buff-colored necks and cheeks.

Ann Tanimoto-Johnson

4 of 5 — Image 4: A family of Nēnē

Nēnē have grey-brown, barred bodies and slight dark ring patterns at the bottom of their necks.

Ann Tanimoto-Johnson

5 of 5 — Image 5: Nēnē

Nēnē have partially webbed feet, which allow them to swim, as well as walk with easy on rugged lava flows.

Ann Tanimoto-Johnson

Few native species in Hawaiʻi are as recognizable as the Nēnē. It's the rarest goose in the world — and a rare conservation success story.

Once abundant in the islands, the Nēnē hit a critical tipping point in the 1950s when only about 30 birds remained in the wild.

But diligent efforts by state and federal agencies over the last 70 years have slowly brought Nēnē back from the brink. Now, their total population stands at about 2,000 individuals.

However, Nēnē are still vulnerable, particularly during their breeding season from October to May. Officialsissued a warning to motorists last month after three Nēnē were struck and killed by cars in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.

AMTJ_Manu Minute, Nene spectrogram video.mp4