Celebrating the ʻAlae ʻUla

ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi Name: ʻAlae ʻula

Common Name: Hawaiian Common Gallinule

Scientific Name: Gallinula galeata sandvicensis

Population: ~700 individuals

Habitat: Endemic to the Hawaiian Islands

Listing: Federally Listed and State Listed as Endangered

The ʻalae ʻula is a distinct subspecies of the Common Gallinule. They are found only on Kauaʻi and Oʻahu and are extinct in the other islands. Despite their endangered status, they can still be spotted easily on golf courses, ponds, loʻi kalo, or taro patches, or when you paddle the rivers and streams. While these birds like to hide in dense wetland vegetation, you can often hear their eerie call.

ʻAlae ʻula live primarily in lowland, freshwater wetland habitats, with some of the largest populations located at Hanalei and James Campbell USFWS National Wildlife Refuges. In addition to shallow freshwater, the birds require habitat with dense vegetation and are territorial of their wetland sites.

They are opportunistic feeders, with a diet consisting of bugs, algae, grass, plant materials, seeds, and other organic matter.

While the species nests year-round, the primary breeding season is from March to August, in areas with standing, shallow freshwater and dense vegetation. They lay between 5-6 eggs, which hatch after 22 days. Chicks are precocial and can swim relatively soon after hatching, but rely on their parents for several weeks.

While much remains unknown about the biology of the ʻalae ʻula, the species is declining rapidly, with around 700 individuals left in the world (Gorresen et al., 2024). Thankfully, we mostly know what they need to thrive: great wetland habitat and protection from predators.

Not only is the ʻalae ʻula an ecologically important and endangered waterbird – it’s also an important feature of Hawaiian moʻolelo, or legends.

One story says the ʻalae ʻula stole fire from the god Maui and gave it to humans. The bird’s red frontal shield symbolizes the burns it suffered as retribution! In fact, ʻalae ʻula translates to "red hen" in Hawaiian, a reference to its striking red frontal shield above its beak (Gomes, 2024).

Another shares that Maui saw smoke arising from the coast and investigated, finding the ʻalae ʻula cooking on an open fire. He confronted the bird, forcing it to reveal the secret of fire. Before leaving, he burned the top of its head, marking the ʻalae ʻula red for everyone to see as punishment for hiding fire from him (Mason, 2024).

Bannor, B. K., & Kiviat, E. (2002). Common moorhen (Gallinula chloropus). In A. Poole & F. Gill (Eds.), The Birds of North America (No. 685). The Academy of Natural Sciences; The American Ornithologists’ Union.

Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Forestry and Wildlife. (2015). Hawai‘i’s State Wildlife Action Plan: 2015 update. State of Hawai‘i, USA. https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/wildlife/hswap

Fischer, E. (2023, July 20). Species spotlight: Hawaiian moorhen (‘alae ‘ula). U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. https://www.fws.gov/story/species-spotlight-hawaiian-moorhen-alae-ula

Gomes, N. (2024, May 1). ‘Alae ‘Ula ethnohistoric report. Kīpuka Manu LLC for DLNR. https://pacificbirds.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/%CA%BBAlae%CA%BBula_Ethnohistoric_Report_1_May_2024.pdf

Gorresen, P. M., Camp, R. J., & Paxton, E. H. (2024). Distribution and trends of endemic Hawaiian waterbirds, 1986–2023 (Hawaiʻi Cooperative Studies Unit Technical Report HCSU-113). University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo / U.S. Geological Survey. https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/wildlife/files/2025/03/Gorresen_2024Hawaiian-waterbirds-trend.pdf

International Union for Conservation of Nature. (2015). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. https://www.redlist.org

Mason, L. K. (2024, June 1). ʻUlaʻula e like me ke ahi. Ka Wai Ola. https://kawaiola.news/columns/na-mana-hoa/ulaula-e-like-me-ke-ahi/

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. (2010, August 27). Hawaiian moorhen or ‘alae ‘ula (Gallinula chloropus sandvicensis) 5-year review: summary and evaluation (Final). U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. https://ecos.fws.gov/docs/five_year_review/doc4563.pdf

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. (2011). Recovery plan for Hawaiian waterbirds (2nd rev., xx + 233 pp.). U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. https://ecos.fws.gov/docs/recovery_plan/Hawaiian%20Waterbirds%20RP%202nd%20Revision.pdf