Japanese White-eye In Maui

I've been hunting the bird for a week...it is extremely quick and sits for only a second at a time. You almost have to be one step ahead to get a shot. Today I was lucky.

The Japanese White-eye, originally introduced in O'ahu in 1929, has rapidly expanded its population and can now be found on every island of Hawaii; the climates of these islands range from tropical rain forests to deciduous forests.

After subsequent releases and natural range expansion, the White-eye was determined to be the most abundant land bird on the Hawaiian Islands as early as 1987.

It has become a vector for avian parasites that are now known to adversely affect populations of native birds such as Hawaiian honeycreepers, as well as spreading invasive plant species through discarded seeds.

We also visited the Kealia Ponds on Maui...interesting as we saw many birds, Hawaiian coots, Hawiian Stilts, Plovers, and a black bird with a curved bill which I have yet to identify. My other photos can be seen on my flickr page: CLICK HERE!