by Cathy Perrins

Created on: April 17, 2008

The Hawaiian Goose is called "Nene" in Hawaiian after one of the soft calls it frequently makes and it has a Latin name of Branta sandvicensis. The Hawaiian Islands are the most isolated group of islands on the planet and this harsh sub-tropical environment and isolation is the key to understanding the Hawaiian Goose. It is endemic to Hawaii which means the wild populations of this goose are only found on the larger islands of Hawai'i, Maui and Kaua'i. It is not, however, native to the Hawaiian Islands. The origin of the Hawaiian Nene Goose is thought to be from several Canadian geese which arrived at the archipelago and the Nene has evolved to it's current form through adaptation to the new environment. The Hawaiian Islands have very little freshwater marshland and very few freshwater rivers. The Nene has evolved to become a terrestrial goose in Hawaii and many of the geese now live in areas of rough older lava flows with sparse vegetation. Because of this the Nene has evolved to have less webbing on its toes and it mates on land unlike most other wild waterfowl. It doesn't have the deep lobes on it's keel like many domestic breeds of geese and it is more agile in walking than many other goose species.

The Hawaiian Nene Goose is a small attractive goose with a delicate black beak and a bright black eye. Frequently they will have a white upper eyelid which gives them a somewhat pensive or languid air. One of the more noticeable features of the goose is the reddish brown blush on the cheeks which increases it's demure appearance. The beak is black with the black color continuing in the feathers under their chin and over the top of the head with a black stripe down the back of their neck. Their neck feathers are a creamy white with furrows showing a very dark gray to black color in the under feathers. This adds an interesting three dimensional look to their necks. There is a distinctive darker ring of feathers between the neck and shoulder with the body of the goose an overall dark warm gray color and the individual large body feathers tipped in the same lighter creamy gray color as the breast of the goose which gives their body and back a nice barred gray coloration. Their tail tends to be darker than the body and they will have lighter to almost white feathers under the tail. Their tall legs are black when wet and show a dark slate gray when dry. There aren't many gender differences in color but the females of the species have a tendency to be smaller. Once

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