Kauaʻi record · kba_bird_hawaiian_coot
Hawaiian Coot
Fulica alai
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About Hawaiian Coot
Hawaiian Coot (Fulica alai) is recorded as a native resident on Kauaʻi in the Bishop Museum's 2017 island checklist. This is a documented island occurrence, not a claim of an individual sighting in 2026.
Kauaʻi evidence
Bishop Museum island checklist (version 2, 2017) lists Kauaʻi status R: native resident. See original island table. The record includes Kauaʻi-specific or clearly defined regional evidence appropriate to its stated occurrence status.
Occurrence evidence
bishop_island_checklist_2017
Names and classification
- Scientific name
- Fulica alai
- Common names
- Hawaiian Coot
- Family
- Rallidae
- Order
- Gruiformes
- Record type
- Species
Kauaʻi occurrence and status
- Kauaʻi occurrence
- Kauaʻi documented: native resident (2017 island checklist)
- Origin
- Endemic
- Conservation status
- Not assessed
- Evidence date
- 2026-09-13
- Evidence limits
- Island occurrence supported by the 2017 checklist; abundance and current year presence are not established here
Habitat and ecology
- Habitats
- Wetlands · Taro fields · Ponds
- Food and resource needs
- Forages in water usually under 30 cm deep and can dive in water up to 120 cm
- Reproduction
- Suitable nesting or roosting sites, seasonal food, and protection from disturbance and predators.
- Shelter
- Shelter and structure within wetlands, taro fields, ponds.
Threats and conservation
- Threats
- Wetland loss, predators, altered hydrology, invasive wetland plants, avian disease, contaminants, and loss of suitable open-water/emergent-vegetation mosaics
- Conservation actions
- Maintain open-water/emergent vegetation balance, water levels, refuges, predator control, disease surveillance, and habitat protection at Hanalei, Huleia, Opaekaa, and comparable wetlands
- Monitoring
- Track occurrence, abundance, habitat condition, breeding or seasonal use, and significant threats.
- Data gaps
- Update island status with dated contemporary records · Specific Kauaʻi habitat and abundance need local evidence
Process and seasonal context
- Seasonal timing
- Endangered Resident Open Water Wetland
- Seasonal description
- Hawaiian Coot (Fulica alai) is recorded as a native resident on Kauaʻi in the Bishop Museum's 2017 island checklist. This is a documented island occurrence, not a claim of an individual sighting in 2026.