The special birds of Manu'a
The Manu'a Islands are famous for their history, culture, and spectacular beauty, but the wildlife of Ta'u, Ofu, and Olosega is also special. Given that these islands are only 60 miles east of Tutuila, you might expect that the same kinds of birds and animals would be found in both places. But in fact there are four kinds of birds living in Manu'a that do not occur on Tutuila.
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| All bird illustrations on this page used with permission from Dick Watling from “Birds of Fiji, Tonga and Samoa” and “Birds of Fiji and Western Polynesia” (Pacificbirds.com). |
The most beautiful of these is Samoa's only parrot, the segavao, or Blue-crowned Lory. This is a tiny jewel of a bird, only 7 inches long, but colored with emerald green back and wings, ruby red face and throat, and a sapphire blue crown. In historic times, these colorful feathers were used to decorate finemats.
Segavao often come in to villages to feed on the nectar of coconut (niu) and coral tree (gatae) flowers, but they are not easy to see in spite of their bright colors. Your first clue to their presence is often their high-pitched whistles, given as they fly overhead or scramble in the top of a coconut tree. This pretty little parrot is also found in western Samoa, but does not live on Tutuila. We don't know why. Tutuila seems to have some of the food segavao like, including aoa fruits, but perhaps there are not enough flowers all year round. In the forests of Manu'a, segavao particularly like the flowers of Astronidium pickeringii, a species for which we know no Samoan name. This tree of the melastome family is common in the high forests of Manu'a.
Another
special bird of Manu'a is the sega o le vau, the Lesser (Fiji)
Shrikebill. This is a charcoal-grey bird with tiny white corners on its
tail, although if you get a very good look you might see a little brown
along its sides, or its blue-grey legs. Sega o le vau are about
the same size as iao, but are stockier and have bigger heads and
wider beaks. This bird is found nowhere else in the Samoan islands. It
also occurs in Fiji, but birds there look very different and are mostly
brown. Sega o le vau can be seen on all three islands of
Manu'a, but they are not closely tied to a particular habitat. They are
usually heard before they are seen, as they often make a loud chatter
as they poke through dead vines or ie'ie leaves. They also make
a clear two-toned whistle, and may answer if you imitate this call. These
birds seem sociable and often move through the forest in small groups
of two or three. They often ignore people, and if you sit very still they
will sometimes feed within arms reach.
The
Spotless Crake is a small black bird that looks like a half-grown Banded
Rail (ve'a). It is extremely rare and has only been found in American
Samoa on Ta'u Island. It lives in dense grass, is active mostly at dawn
and dusk, and is very shy. All these habits makes it very hard to see,
and only two birds have been sighted in recent years.
Another
rare land bird in American Samoa is the tuaimeo, the Friendly Ground-Dove.
This bird gets its name because it was first discovered in Tonga, once
called the Friendly Islands. A better name would probably be the Shy Ground-Dove,
as this bird will sit very still on a low branch and hope you do not notice
it. Your best chance of seeing one is if it happens to be walking in the
path you are using, as it may run ahead of you or fly up onto a tree limb.
You may also hear its call, a single, drawn-out coo that is slightly lower
and much longer than the rapid, short coos of the fruit-doves manutagi
or manuma. If you are very close, you can hear a slight variation
in the tone of the call. Tuaimeo are mostly dark brown birds, although
like many doves the males can be very pretty if seen in good light. Unlike
other doves or pigeons in American Samoa, this bird spends most of its
time on the ground, where it feeds on fallen seeds, fruit, and buds. Tuaimeo
can be seen on Ofu and Olosega, as well as in Fiji, Tonga, and Samoa.
Birds are not the only unique wildlife of Manu'a. For example, Ta'u is home to American Samoa's only native snake, the gata, or Pacific Boa. This dark brown snake is harmless to people, apparently living mostly on a diet of lizards (mo'o and pili), birds and bird eggs. It is rare, or at least very hard to find in the deep forests of Ta'u, and should be left undisturbed whenever it is found.
Why is the wildlife in Manu'a so different from that on Tutuila? One reason could be the wildness of Manu'a: large areas, mostly on Ta'u, are untouched by villages, plantations, and roads. Another reason may be that in Manu'a the native birds have fewer problems caused by introduced birds, animals, diseases, or plants. Or, it could be that the terrain in Manu'a, which has many areas with steep yet forested ridges that have quite different plants than similar ridges, such as Alava, on Tutuila. Each of the special birds of Manu'a may have different reasons for being there, but the absence of all of them from Tutuila suggests there might be a single explanation for this pattern, and this remains an interesting biological question about American Samoa.
Joshua Seamon, Pepper Trail - DMWR
Manu'a