Moorhen Gallinula
Chloropus sandvicensis
Status: Endangered. Dependant on wetlands, they have suffered from loss of habitat, hunting, and predation from non-native species introduced to the islands, including cats.
The 'Alae 'ula bird is elusive, shy and quick to seek shelter when it senses the presence of another creature. It delves among the reeds and dense vegetation of marshes and wetlands. A moorhen's feathers are ebony black, and its beak has a distinctive bright red frontal shield, tipped with a golden point. This distinct coloration makes it the subject of a Hawaiian legend that tells of how this unassuming waterbird brought the gift of fire to the people.
It is said that at one time, the 'Alae 'ula once had pristine white plumage. He braved the scorching heat and smoke and the heart of the volcano where the gods reside, and brought back fire for humans. The fiery journey scorched his feathers soot-black, and left his beak blazing red and gold-tipped like the volcano's flames, and thus today he wears these colors as a banner of that selfless and perilous flight.
References:
Fischer, Elena. "Species Spotlight: Hawaiian Moorhen ('Alae 'Ula)". US Fish & Wildlife Service.
https://www.fws.gov/story/species-spotlight-hawaiian-moorhen-alae-ula
Hawaiian Almanac and Annual for .... (1901). United States: Honolulu Star-Bulletin, Publications Division. 115.