'Akikiki, also known as Kaua'i creepers, are an endangered forest bird endemic to the island of Kaua'i.

'Akikiki, also known as Kaua'i creepers, are an endangered forest bird endemic to the island of Kaua'i.

Special thanks to the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology for today's field recordings. Mōlī, or Laysan albatrosses, breed in large numbers across the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, with nearly a million birds counted on Midway island alone.

Special thanks to the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology for today's field recordings.

Special thanks to the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology for today's field recordings. So how does a bird that's barely the size of an apple banana from the opposite side of the world make it to Hawai'i? Oh, the usual way.

The yellow-fronted canary is native to sub-Saharan Africa, where they populate open woodlands and grasslands in great numbers. Not to be confused with the Saffron finch, these small birds only grow to be about four or five inches in length and have grey markings on their head and wings.

Hawai'i 'elepaio are native species of Flycatcher - as their name suggests, they spend most of their time catching flies and other tasty insects "on the wing," or midflight.

Hawai'i 'elepaio are native species of Flycatcher - as their name suggests, they spend most of their time catching flies and other tasty insects "on the wing," or midflight.

The ae'o, also known as kūkuluae'o, or Hawaiian stilt, is an endangered waterbird found only in the Hawaiian islands.

The ae'o, also known as kūkuluae'o, or Hawaiian stilt, is an endangered waterbird found only in the Hawaiian islands.