Tails of the City: Giving Nonnative Birds a Flying Chance
To Betty Kanai and other volunteer rehabbers, all birds are created equal.
When my cat deposited a petrified but intact baby bulbul in my living room, I did what most of us would: I turned to Google and ChatGPT. Reach out to Hawai‘i Bird Rescue was the top suggestion. Within minutes came a reply to my plea on the nonprofit’s Facebook page. “I can help,” it read. “Would you be able to transport baby to me in Pearl City?”
If a white tern chick falls from a tree that’s an active nesting site, a blue ribbon tied around the trunk tells you to call the Manu-o-Kū Hotline. And years of PSAs have taught us to look out for fallen ‘ua‘u kani or shearwater fledglings disoriented by urban lights. But what about nonnative birds? Who helps when a mynah, turtledove or other bird of distant origin is orphaned or hurt?
It turns out invasive species have their saviors, too. Take Betty Kanai of Pearl City. A volunteer with Hawai‘i Bird Rescue, Kanai cares for about 50 rescued bulbuls in peak summer breeding season. Some are injured, others newborns with their eyes still shut; many, like my Chicky, are replacing baby down with new feathers and can’t yet fly.
“Hi Mari! Chicky is doing well,” Kanai messages a couple of days later. “He’s getting an antibiotic and pain medication. I’m guessing the cat did puncture him and some of its saliva did get into him.”
Kanai evaluates, warms, hand-feeds, monitors and administers basic medicines until the chicks can perch and eat on their own. At that point they go to fellow HBR volunteer Katherine Shun, who cares for them in a large cage in her ‘Aiea Heights yard until they’re ready to fly into the neighboring forest.
HBR is one of several O‘ahu nonprofits dedicated to wild birds, all run by trained, self-funded volunteers in their homes. Others include Aloha Bird Rescue and Wild Bird Rehab Haven. Kanai says thousands of people have signed on with HBR, though fewer than 100 are active members. The most avid become de facto specialists—like Kanai with her bulbuls and Shun with her adolescents. Kanai’s friend is a mynah specialist; someone else is good at splinting broken legs and wings.
“Hi Mari! Little Chicky is so much better,” Kanai messages later. “I used to be able to spot him immediately because he looked lethargic. This morning, there was not a lethargic bird to be found! I put a drop of nail polish on his back toenail yesterday. Thank goodness I did that. He’s looking great!”
In Kanai’s permanent care are Lā‘ie, a bulbul from Polynesian Cultural Center grounds whose entangled foot had to be amputated; and Miracle, who recovered from internal injuries after falling from a tall tree. Miracle refused to eat in Shun’s care because he missed Kanai. Two blind bulbuls have also become Kanai’s pets. All of O‘ahu’s wild bird nonprofits aim to rehabilitate their charges for lives in the wild—and rehome those who can’t survive on their own.
hawaiibirdrescue.com, alohabirdrescuehawaii.com, wildbirdrehabhaven.org
