Rising Tide Images
Manu Yawn
At one week old, a manu-o-Kū hatchling has little to do between feedings. Left alone and seemingly bored, this downy ball of cuteness was caught mid-yawn. The manu-o-Kū is an arboreal nesting pelagic seabird that doesn’t construct a nest; instead using a flat or hollow or fork in the tree to keep the egg from rolling away. The hatchling uses its strong, clawed, semipalmate feet to cling to the swaying tree branch that will be its home until fledging. This one is nesting in a monkeypod tree adjacent to a building in urban Honolulu that provides an opportunity for a cropped telephoto image. Parents alternate fishing and feeding duties leaving the chick unattended for up to several hours. Adults fish up to 120 miles offshore and provision the chick with fresh whole fish or squid rather than devouring then regurgitating a meal. This avian behavior was known to Polynesian voyagers and other seafarers. A landfall that may be out of view over the horizon could be located by following these birds conveying their catch back to their nestling.
Manu Yawn
At one week old, a manu-o-Kū hatchling has little to do between feedings. Left alone and seemingly bored, this downy ball of cuteness was caught mid-yawn. The manu-o-Kū is an arboreal nesting pelagic seabird that doesn’t construct a nest; instead using a flat or hollow or fork in the tree to keep the egg from rolling away. The hatchling uses its strong, clawed, semipalmate feet to cling to the swaying tree branch that will be its home until fledging. This one is nesting in a monkeypod tree adjacent to a building in urban Honolulu that provides an opportunity for a cropped telephoto image. Parents alternate fishing and feeding duties leaving the chick unattended for up to several hours. Adults fish up to 120 miles offshore and provision the chick with fresh whole fish or squid rather than devouring then regurgitating a meal. This avian behavior was known to Polynesian voyagers and other seafarers. A landfall that may be out of view over the horizon could be located by following these birds conveying their catch back to their nestling.