Hawaiian Coot (Fulica alai)
About the Hawaiian Coot
The ʻAlae keʻokeʻo (Fulica alai), also known as the Hawaiian coot in English, is a bird in the rail family, Rallidae, that is endemic to Hawaii. In Hawaiian, ʻalae is a noun and means mud hen. Keʻo is an adjective for clear or white. It is similar to the American coot at 33–40.6 cm (13–16 in) in length and weighing around 700 g (1 lb 9 oz). It has black plumage and a prominent white frontal shield. Its natural habitats are freshwater lakes, freshwater marshes, coastal saline lagoons, and water storage areas. The bird was federally listed in October 1970 as an endangered species and is considered both endemic and endangered by the state of Hawaiʻi. It is threatened by habitat loss and introduced predators such as the small Asian mongoose. The Makalawena Marsh on the Big Island of Hawaiʻi has been listed as a National Natural Landmark to preserve one of its last nesting areas.
No audio on this page yet
We only publish recordings we may use commercially, because this site is supported by ads. xeno-canto lists 16 recordings for this species: 16 CC BY-NC-SA. None of them permits commercial use, so there is no player here — the page is kept as a profile so the bird is not missing from the guide.
As soon as someone uploads a freely licensed recording, we mirror it and the player appears here.
Listed as recorded in United States in the xeno-canto catalogue.
Related species you can hear
- Eurasian CootFulica atrarecording
- Red-knobbed CootFulica cristatarecording
This species has no recording here yet — these relatives do, so you can hear what the family sounds like.