Natural History Wanderings

NPR  reports

Every week at the Maui airport, a small helicopter gets loaded with 250,000 passengers. They’re male mosquitoes, key players in a strategy that could be the last, best hope for Hawaii’s endangered birds.

There were once more than 50 species of Hawaiian honeycreepers, small colorful birds that filled the native forests and have important significance in Native Hawaiian culture. Now, those forests are going silent. Only 17 species of honeycreeper are left, with some expected to go extinct in the wild as soon as this year.

Read or listen to the full story at  How releasing mosquitoes could save Hawaii’s endangered birds : NPR