Why are there so many introduced bird species in Hawaii ?
A. Different introduced birds are in Hawai’i for different reasons. The Moa or Red Junglefowl was originally brought to Hawai’i by the early Polynesians and provided food and eggs for them. Junglefowl can still be seen today on Kaua’i. Some species such as Barn Owl and Cattle Egret were introduced to try to control agricultural pests, with mixed success. Many species were brought to Hawai’i as pets and either escaped or were deliberately released by their owners and eventually built up self-sustaining populations. Other species were deliberately introduced to bring back birdlife to the lowland areas of the Islands, which were devoid of most birds due to habitat loss and disease, this was particularly prevalent in the early 20th Century. Some species simply escaped whilst being transported, and as these consignments were usually of many birds, a population could quickly establish in the wild. One species, the Mariana Swiftlet (previously known as Guam Swiftlet) from Guam and the Mariana
