Natural History Wanderings

Honolulu Civil Beat reports

Scientists are racing to eradicate disease-carrying mosquitoes from forests, but to some a solution still feels like forever away.

Only 17 forest bird species are left in the islands, down from more than 50 that evolved here over thousands of years, according to the Audubon Society. And nearly all of those that persist appear poised for extinction in this century as threats to their survival intensify with the onset of climate change.

Over time, Hawaii’s mountaintop forests have become the birds’ last refuge. That’s because this high-elevation habitat has historically been too cool to host the birds’ most severe threat: mosquitoes carrying avian malaria.

Read full story at  Deadly Mosquitoes Are Killing Off Hawaii’s Rare Forest Birds