Hō‘awa and ‘Alalā

Hō‘awa (Pittosporum hosmeri) is an attractive small tree. It is popular in landscaping, and was even exported as an ornamental landscape plant and houseplant.

It grows as a mid-story plant in the native forest. The bright orange ripe fruit is one of the favorite foods of the Hawaiian crow, or ‘alalā (Corvus tropicus). The ‘alalā feeds on the dark oily seeds in the fruit, and spreads them in the forest.

The ‘alalā is an important seed disperser for many different plants in the forest. Each plant in the ‘alalā diet fruits at different times of the year, taking turns feeding the birds, and having their seeds spread. If the ‘alalā goes extinct, the task of restoring the native forest becomes much more difficult.

There were historically at least five different endemic crow species in the Hawaiian Islands. Only the ‘alalā species of crow survives and is itself on the verge of extinction. It is practically extinct in the wild and only survives in captivity. The native forests are so degraded that the ‘alalā is not able to find enough food, or survive introduced predators and diseases. The restoration of the native forest is made more difficult when the ‘alalā is not there to disperse seeds from native plants.

The ‘alalā, like most crows, are intelligent and noisy birds. Its loud clamorous calls could be heard in the forests frightening other birds away. Hawaiians named a loud style of chant after the bird. The ‘alalā style of chant is a way to project the voice over a long distance. It was used as a way for ali‘i to relay commands to warriors over the noise of battle. Hopefully, we will be able to hear the raucous calls of the wild ‘alalā in the forest again.