Rick San Nicolas is a master featherworker, carrying on a tradition of making elaborate feather garments that dates back centuries in Hawai’i. He’s recreating the famous pā‘ū, or skirt, given to Hawaii’s Princess Nāhiʻenaʻena nearly 200 years ago on Maui. The original pā‘ū was made mostly from the feathers of a bird called the ʻōʻō. Now, all ʻōʻō species are extinct, due to the effects of invasive species and habitat loss. That makes the original pā'ū a remarkable sign that ʻōʻō’s were once present on Maui. Learn more on the Threatened podcast. 

More info and transcript at BirdNote.org. 

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