The Hawaiian Goose, or nene, is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.

Biogeographic Regions: pacific ocean (Native )

Other Geographic Terms: island endemic

Global Range: (<100-250 square km (less than about 40-100 square miles)) Fossil records suggest that this species originally occurred on all the main islands. Historically, this species occurred on the Big Island (Hawaii) from sea level to 2,400 meters in elevation. It probably also occurred on Maui in the subalpine zone. Currently, the species ranges from just above sea level to approximately 2,700 meters on the islands of Kauai, Maui, and Hawaii. Highest densities on the Big Island occur on the upper slopes of Hualalai, in upper Kau, and in the saddle area between Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa. Highest densities on Maui occur in Haleakala National Park (Scott et al. 1986, Hawaii Audubon Society 1993).

endemic to a single state or province

United States

Origin: Native

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Present

Confidence: Confident

Type of Residency: Year-round

Adult nenes are either sepia or dark brown, with no difference in plumage between males and females. The face and crown are black, while the cheeks are cream-colored and the neck is buff with black streaks. The body is brown to grey, the wings are brown to gray, with white tips and the bottom side of the tail is black. The eyes, beak, and feet are black as well. Nenes have longer legs and less toe webbing than other geese, adaptations which aid walking on lava flows.

Range mass: 1.8 to 2.3 kg.

Range length: 53 to 66 cm.

Other Physical Features: endothermic ; homoiothermic; bilateral symmetry

Sexual Dimorphism: male larger

Length: 64 cm

Lacks the broad white chin strap of the Canada goose.

Differs from other true geese by having longer legs, more erect posture, and reduced webbing between its toes (Banko et al. 1999).

• Terrestrial

Nenes inhabit a variety of habitats, including grasslands, scrub forests, and sparsely vegetated volcanic slopes.

Range elevation: 0 to 2400 m.

Habitat Regions: tropical ; terrestrial

Terrestrial Biomes: savanna or grassland ; scrub forest ; mountains

Comments: Mainly on sparsely vegetated lava flows (regarded as marginal habitat). Formerly occupied lowland habitats now destroyed or inhabited by predators. Does not require open water. During nonbreeding season feeds in pastures dominated by introduced grasses. Nests on lava often in site well concealed by vegetation; also nests in vegetation near edges of kipukas. Commonly returns to same area to nest in successive years.

Non-Migrant: Yes. At least some populations of this species do not make significant seasonal migrations. Juvenile dispersal is not considered a migration.

Locally Migrant: No. No populations of this species make local extended movements (generally less than 200 km) at particular times of the year (e.g., to breeding or wintering grounds, to hibernation sites).

Locally Migrant: No. No populations of this species make annual migrations of over 200 km.

Nenes are herbivores and forage solely on land. They eat leaves, grasses, flowers, berries, flowers, and seeds. Nenes usually eat the more nutrient rich bottom part of grasses, and grab and pull food with their beaks. Several important grasses on the Hawaiian islands that are eaten by nenes include Digitaria violascens, Andropogon virginicus, Sporobolus africanus, Carex wahuensis and some others.

Plant Foods: leaves; seeds, grains, and nuts; fruit; flowers

Primary Diet: herbivore (Folivore )

Comments: Eats greens, fruits, seeds. Green vegetation and berries of native plants, such as VACCINIUM spp., Coprosma ERNODEODES, Styphelia tameiameiae, and Osteomeles anthyllidifolia (Matthews and Moseley 1990).

Nenes are important at spreading seeds for many of the plants on which they feed. They are also important food sources for many of the predators mentioned in the previous predation section.

Ecosystem Impact: disperses seeds

Males defend their brood and nest most often, while females also engage in defense sometimes. Threat displays such as the bent neck and forward threat are used to scare off predators. When defending themselves from aerial attack, nenes produce alarm calls, huddle in groups and spread wings, or they simply fly away. Chicks usually hide behind parents, leaving defense to them.

Known Predators:

• barn owls (Tyto alba)
• short-eared owls (Asio flammeus sandwichensis)
• Hawaiian hawks (Buteo solitarius)
• peregrine falcons (Falco peregrinus)
• Polynesian rats (Rattus exulans)
• feral pigs (Sus scrofa)
• Indian mongooses (Herpestes auropunctatus)
• domestic dogs (Canis lupus familiaris)
• feral cats (Felis silvestris)
• roof rats (Rattus rattus)

Anti-predator Adaptations: aposematic

Note: For many non-migratory species, occurrences are roughly equivalent to populations.

Estimated Number of Occurrences: 6 - 80

Comments: About 25 separate sites (from map in Banko et al. 1999). Many of these, however, are not self-sustaining.

250 - 1000 individuals

Comments: Banko et al. (1999) estimated about 885 wild or free-ranging Nene: Hawai'i, 393; Maui, 236; Kaua'i, 256.

Nonbreeders form loose flocks during breeding season. Detailed information on home range lacking, but generally range within 200 square kilometers (Banko et al. 1999).

Other than threat and mating displays and sounds described previously, vocalizations are used to communicate with family members, solidify territory, send alarm calls, and threaten predators. Nenes also murmur when foraging as a way of maintaining foraging distance between family members. Chicks can send pleasure calls, distress calls, sleepy calls and greeting calls. Calls are louder during and close to breeding season.

In addition to auditory cues, vision is key in foraging and recognizing family members, predators, and opponents.

Communication Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic

Other Communication Modes: duets

Perception Channels: ultraviolet

Annual mortality varies greatly from study to study, depending on whether the animal is wild or in captivity, locality, elevation, etc. The range is from 0 to 87% annual mortality, with slightly lower mortality rates for males than females. In the wild the main causes of mortality include exposure (from low temperatures in high nesting locations), predation (from several indigenous and introduced raptor species, as well as rats, pigs, dogs and mongoose), competition with other species (due to an overlap in diet with game birds and grazing mammals), and starvation or dehydration due to drought. In captivity, 84% of deaths resulted from parasites and diseases while the remaining 16% resulted from trauma. Males die evenly throughout the year. Female mortality occurs mainly in the breeding season when they are most vulnerable to exposure, trauma, and stress from egg laying and predation.

Range lifespan

Status: wild: 28 (high) years.

Range lifespan

Status: captivity: 42 (high) years.

Average lifespan

Status: wild: 213 months.

Nenes form life-long pair bonds. The male attempts to court the female by stiffly walking in front of her and showing her the white area under his tail. After the female has accepted the male, the two engage in a triumph ceremony in which the male aggressively pushes away rivals and then calls loudly. This is followed by calling into each other's ears. The display before copulation is comparable to other geese, except done on land instead of water. The head and neck are mutually dipped onto the ground, more and more synchronously. Finally the female becomes ready and the male mounts the female. Afterwards, the male raises his wings, pulls his mate's head back and touches her nape with his beak. This is followed by simultaneous calling by both birds, followed by the female flapping its wings and the male strutting.

Mating System: monogamous

Nenes have an extended breeding season ranging from August through April. However, the majority of nesting occurs between the months of October and March, and eggs are usually laid during the winter months between October and January. Nesting occurs on the ground in areas of dense vegetation. Nests are lined with plants and soft down. The female incubates and the male guards the female on the nest. Clutches consist of between 1 and 5 eggs, with an average of 3. Chicks are precocial, stop following parents within one year, and are sexually mature within 2 to 3 years.

Breeding interval: Breeding occurs once a year, though not all pairs lay eggs every year.

Breeding season: Breeding occurs from August through April, with most activity from October to March.

Range eggs per season: 1 to 5.

Range time to hatching: 29 to 31 days.

Average fledging age: 3 months.

Average time to independence: 1 years.

Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female): 2 to 3 years.

Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 2 to 3 years.

Key Reproductive Features: seasonal breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)

The female selects the nesting site, usually near her own natal site. Females dig a shallow scrape, usually under a bush or tree, and line the scrape with vegetation. Males rarely contribute to nest building. Females incubate the eggs, while the male guards her, though not constantly. The female spends roughly four hours of each day away from the nest, when she eats and rests. During hatching, the female spends more time on the nest, and stays on top of the young until their down dries. The young do not need to be fed by parents. Young readily forage within the first day. However, they remain close to their parents until roughly one year old.

Parental Investment: precocial ; pre-fertilization (Provisioning, Protecting: Female); pre-hatching/birth (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Male, Female); pre-weaning/fledging (Protecting: Male, Female); pre-independence (Protecting: Male, Female)

Nesting season is about October-March in native habitat. Clutch size usually is 3-5. Incubation lasts 29-31 days. Young able to run as soon as dry, first fly at 10-12 weeks; vulnerable to predators before flight attained. Sexually mature typically in 2 years. Usually does not renest in same season if first attempt fails.

• 2007
  Vulnerable
• 2004
  Vulnerable
• 2000
  Vulnerable
• 1996
  Vulnerable
• 1994
  Vulnerable

Early Hawaiian settlers used nenes as a food source and hunted the birds to near extinction. In 1907, a hunting ban was placed on these birds, but still approached extinction by 1940 due to predation by introduced species as well as degradation of habitat and other human related destruction. In 1957, nenes were named the state bird in Hawaii and efforts to rescue the almost extinct population, including breeding in captivity and protecting nesting areas began. Though early programs for reintroducing birds into the wild failed, later ones have been very successful and the wild nene population is recovering at around 800 individuals. Currently the greatest threat to nenes is predation of eggs by introduced Indian mongooses (Herpestes javanicus).

US Migratory Bird Act: protected

US Federal List: endangered

CITES: appendix i

State of Michigan List: no special status

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: vulnerable

United States

Rounded National Status Rank: N1 - Critically Imperiled

Rounded Global Status Rank: G1 - Critically Imperiled

Reasons: Restricted to Hawaiian Islands; small wild population; most populations require ongoing restocking to maintain current numbers; threats to gosling survival are constant.

Other Considerations: Currently unavailable lowland habitat may be important for populations to become self-sustaining. This species is completely dependent upon releases of captive-bred stock to maintain its numbers in the wild (Black et al. 1991).

Global Short Term Trend: Decline of 10-30%

Comments: USFWS (1990) categorized the status as "declining." Populations at Keeau (Hawaii) and on Kauai have increased dramatically, due to good lowland foraging habitat and few predators (Banko et al. 1999; Black et al. 1991). The upland Maui population "seems stable" (Banko et al. 1999).

Global Long Term Trend: Decline of >90%

Comments: Formerly abundant; extirpated first from lowlands; became extinct on Maui before 1890; nearly extinct in wild by 1951. Range and numbers subsequently increased through captive breeding and release, but most populations are not self-sustaining (Banko et al. 1999).

Degree of Threat: A : Very threatened throughout its range communities directly exploited or their composition and structure irreversibly threatened by man-made forces, including exotic species

Comments: Hunting, egg collecting, and predation contributed to the historic decline. Scarcity of native food plants, predation by introduced mammals, and perhaps habitat loss are probably the main reasons for continued difficulties. In certain areas, collisions with vehicles is the major cause of mortality. In general, populations are limited by food scarcity in highlands and by introduced predators in lowlands (Banko et al. 1999). Long-term survival outlook is unclear (Pratt et al. 1987). "Substantial additional efforts" are needed to counter these threats if the Nene is to recover fully (Banko et al. 1999).

Management Requirements: Most populations are dependent on releases of captive-raised birds (Black et al. 1991).

Management at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and Haleakala National Park has involved the use of predator-free nesting enclosures and reestablishment of native food plants (Matthews and Moseley 1990). See "Nene recovery plan" (1983). See also Kear and Berger (1980).

The presence of nene on and adjacent to runways at Lihue Airport on Kauai poses a potential management problem (End. Sp. Tech. Bull. 16(6):4).

A new captive propagation facility was completed at Olinda, Maui, in the late 1980s.

See USFWS (1990) for a brief recovery progress report.

Native forests should be restored to the highest degree possible. Continued eradication of alien species from the vicinity of occupied habitat areas is needed. Linking disjunct populations through reforestation efforts could improve the prospect for long term survival.

Management Research Needs: Investigate methods to alleviate threats from exotic predators.

Biological Research Needs: Further research on nutritional requirements is needed.

Global Protection: Few to several (1-12) occurrences appropriately protected and managed

Comments: Protected areas include Hawaii Volcanoes and Haleakala national parks, Waikamoi Preserve, Kilauea National Wildlife Refuge, Hakalau National Wildlife Refuge; also Waimea Canyon, Na Pali Coast, and Kokee state parks. There are also five Nene sanctuaries (areas with some management).

Needs: Populations outside of the National Parks need protection. Many birds considered "protected" often move in and out of the national parks into areas lacking protection.

Since they fly low, nenes often collide with fences and automobiles. Otherwise, there are no known adverse effects of nens on humans.

Nenes are the state bird of Hawaii and are thus a state symbol.

Positive Impacts: ecotourism

Comments: Formerly included in the genus NESOCHEN; included in Branta by the American Ornithologists' Union (1993). Mitochondrial DNA data and geologically calibrated estimates of time indicate that the Hawaiian Goose and the Canada Goose diverged from a common ancestor 0.82 to 1.08 million years ago (Paxinos 1998; Quinn et al. 1991).