Honouliuli Ewa Plain Pueos
The Disappearing Sacred Guardians Of Native Lands On The Ewa Plain
John Bond, Kanehili Cultural Hui
P u e o O w l : T h e P r o t e c t o r
"Pueo" by Michael Furuya www.michaelfuruya.com
The Pueo is sacred and a guardian of our sacred lands.
What does it say about our society and culture today to let this great bird die off?
Pueo flew in great numbers in the late 1800s
The pueo male performs an elaborate “sky-dancing” display to draw the
attention of a prospective mate.
Unlike most owls, pueo are diurnal and are occasionally seen hovering
or soaring over open areas
Few disagree that pueo need a clear management plan all for themselves
State listed as Endangered on Oahu, the Pueo was once abundant on the Ewa Plain of Honouliuli as seen by naturalist Andrew Bloxam from the British Royal Navy frigate HMS Blonde in 1824-25. He saw it and made a classification, but did not collect a specimen. Surveyor Lt. Charles Malden from the HMS Blonde also recorded the extensive native Hawaiian trail system and produced a map which became known as the 1825 Malden Trails, the indication of a significant, well organized native population and cultural presence in the ahupua'a of Honouliuli.
Pueo: The Hawaiian Owl
The Pueo is sacred and a guardian of our sacred lands.
What does it say about our society and culture today to let this great bird die off?
Pueo flew in great numbers in the late 1800s
The pueo male performs an elaborate “sky-dancing” display to draw the
attention of a prospective mate.
Unlike most owls, pueo are diurnal and are occasionally seen hovering
or soaring over open areas
Few disagree that pueo need a clear management plan all for themselves
State listed as Endangered on Oahu, the Pueo was once abundant on the Ewa Plain of Honouliuli as seen by naturalist Andrew Bloxam from the British Royal Navy frigate HMS Blonde in 1824-25. He saw it and made a classification, but did not collect a specimen. Surveyor Lt. Charles Malden from the HMS Blonde also recorded the extensive native Hawaiian trail system and produced a map which became known as the 1825 Malden Trails, the indication of a significant, well organized native population and cultural presence in the ahupua'a of Honouliuli.
Pueo: The Hawaiian Owl
The Pueo, or Hawaiian Owl, is a subspecies of the short-eared owl. The scientific name is Asio flammeus sandwichensis. It is an endemic species, which evolved in the Hawaiian islands and is not found naturally elsewhere. There is no fossil record of the Pueo before the Polynesians arrived here. That may be because the early Polynesians created a habitat
that was suited for colonization by the Pueo.
The Pueo was revered by the ancient Hawaiians.
It is the aumakua, or ancestral guardian, of many Hawaiian families, and was associated with skill in battle. An encounter with the Pueo is considered to be an omen.
The Pueo’s favorite habitat is open grasslands, fields and pastures; although they are sometimes found in lowland forests. They eat rodents and insects, and sometimes small birds. They are often seen hunting at dawn and sunset, hovering over their prey before diving down for the kill.
This owl nests right on the ground, in grassy areas. The Pueo lays three to six eggs over a few months, and the eggs hatch at different times. The young nestlings are vulnerable to feral cats.
Photo by Forest & Kim Starr
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that was suited for colonization by the Pueo.
The Pueo was revered by the ancient Hawaiians.
It is the aumakua, or ancestral guardian, of many Hawaiian families, and was associated with skill in battle. An encounter with the Pueo is considered to be an omen.
The Pueo’s favorite habitat is open grasslands, fields and pastures; although they are sometimes found in lowland forests. They eat rodents and insects, and sometimes small birds. They are often seen hunting at dawn and sunset, hovering over their prey before diving down for the kill.
This owl nests right on the ground, in grassy areas. The Pueo lays three to six eggs over a few months, and the eggs hatch at different times. The young nestlings are vulnerable to feral cats.
Photo by Forest & Kim Starr
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Pueo or Hawaiian Short-eared Owl
Asio flammeus sandwichensis
SPECIES
STATUS:
State listed as
Endangered on O‘ahu
State recognized as
Endemic at the subspecies level
NatureServe Heritage
Rank G5/T2 –
Species secure/Subspecies imperiled
SPECIES
INFORMATION:
The pueo, or Hawaiian short-eared owl, is an
endemic subspecies
of the nearly pandemic
short-eared owl (Asio flammeus;
Family: Strigidae). The species is
thought to have
colonized the Hawaiian Islands sometime after the arrival of Polynesians.
Unlike most owls, pueo
are active during the day (i.e., diurnal), and are commonly seen
hovering or soaring
over open areas. Like short-eared owls in continental environments, those in Hawai‘i primarily
consume small mammals.
Their relatively recent establishment in Hawaii may have been
tied to the rats
(Rattus exulans)
that Polynesians brought to the islands.
Little is known about
the breeding biology of pueo, but nests have been found throughout the year. Males perform
aerial displays known as a sky dancing display to prospective females.
Nests are constructed
by females and are comprised of simple scrapes in the ground lined with grasses and feather
down. Females also perform all incubating and brooding. Males feed females and defend
nests. Chicks hatch asynchronously and are fed by female with food delivered by male.
Young may fledge from nest on foot before they are able to fly and depend on their parents for approximately two months.
LOCATION
AND CONDITION OF KEY HABITAT:
Pueo occupy a variety of habitats,including wet and dry
forests, but are most common in open habitats such as grasslands, shrublands, and montane
parklands,
including urban areas and those actively managed for conservation.
CONSERVATION
ACTIONS:
Pueo likely have benefited from management activities
designed to conserve
other endangered birds. They also may benefit from game bird
management; high densities of pueo occur on lands where game birds
also are common.
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Pueo, The Protector by Veronica S. Schweitzer
What is it about owls? They have played an important role in myth, legend, and folklore since ancient times. Paleolithic rock carvings in French caves show a pair of snowy owls with their chicks. Why? A food source? Or something more mysterious that binds us to this creature? It seems that in all cultures the owl invokes a mixture of intense feelings:
Awe; fear; inspiration; safety.
The owl is both considered a messenger of doom, and a good ol' wise bird.
Truth is, the owl certainly has what it takes to be a fearsome bird. And it has chosen a most mysterious setting for its life to unfold. Like the eagle and the hawk, owls are master killers, with ferocious talons, and beaks you wouldn't want to feel hooked too deeply underneath your skin. As creatures of the night, they represent the darker mysteries, their clear call alluding to the worst that darkness can hold. Looking for rodents in open, grassy land, they love to hunt ghostly cemeteries, church yards and abandoned ruins.
They truly fly without as much as a whisper of sound.
But on the other hand, the owl's lethal talons and beak are hidden in a cloak of soft, attractive thick feathers. The facial disks resemble the cutest, puffed up cheeks. Their eyes, big and round, seem human. And those ear tufts, well, grandfather too had hairs like that. Add to this their vertical body posture and a little anthropomorphic projection, and you
have your wise, learned owl.
In Hawaii, from before the arrival of the first Polynesians, flies the short-eared brown owl, also named Hawaiian owl, or pueo. Like everywhere else, Hawaii gave the owl
a special place in its mythology.
Pueo is sacred.
The Hawaiian dictionary lists several meanings and connotations for the word itself: When a certain object or concept is considered important, more layers of meaning are contributed, each level unraveling deeper and deeper symbolic significance.
Pueo doesn't signify only an owl, but also denotes a taro variety, the staff of life.
In addition it indicates, among other meanings, shortness, the shroud of a canoe, and the rocking of a child. Then there are the many expressions that use the word pueo, such as keiki a ka pueo, "child of an owl, whose father is not known", or, ka pueo kani kaua, "the owl who sings of war, the owl as a protector in battle". A no lani, a no honua, another saying states, "the guardian owl belongs to heaven and earth". Throughout Hawaii, streets, areas, and valleys bear the owl's name, with many such places having an
intriguing legend attached to them.
Pueo's legacy reaches far beyond brown feathers into the realm of the spirit world.
As for the facts about pueo, its Latin classification spells asio flammeus sandwicensis, but specialists are not in agreement whether this owl, endemic to the islands, is truly a subspecies of the North American Short-Eared Owl or indistinguishable from its continental friends. Either way, it measures 13 to 17 inches, with the females being slightly larger than the males. A dark mask surrounds large, yellow eyes, and its feathered body is streaked with shades of brown and white. The pueo, unlike most owls, is often active during the day and loves to fly at high altitude above open, grassy areas. The pueo feels at home at sea level as well as in the higher mountains.
Pueo loves to nest in grassy areas, making its survival a precarious affair. It lays three to six white eggs over a span of up to several months. As a result, the eggs don't hatch all at the same time. In one nest different ages grow up together. Right on ground level, the little nestlings are vulnerable to feral cats and mongooses. Once up and flying, the birds are often killed by guns or through stress caused by construction and development.
The pueo, with all its mysterious wisdom, is among the oldest physical manifestations of the Hawaiian family protectors, the ancestral guardians, the aumakua.
It was believed that after the death of an ancestor, the spirit could still protect and influence the remaining family acting through a body such as that of the owl, the shark, the turtle, or even the centipede. Each species channeling the ancestor held unique strengths. The owl as aumakua was specifically skilled in battle.
The most famous legend, "The Battle of the Owls" underscores the aumakua's force. It relates the story of an Oahu man who robbed an owl's nest: After he slung the coveted bounty in his knapsack, the owl-parent shrieked with grief and complaint. The man felt sorry and quickly returned the eggs unharmed to the nest. Not only that, he took the owl as his god and built a temple in its honor.
Naturally, the ruling chief thought this an act of rebellion against the prevalent gods, and ordered the man's execution. The weapon was poised, the man feared his last breath, and the owls gathered, darkening the skies with their wings. Any further action of the king's soldiers became impossible. The man walked free.
Much further back in time, it is said that Hina, the mother of the god Maui, gave birth to a second child, in the form of the pueo. Later, when the brave Maui was taken as prisoner by enemies and held for sacrifice, brother owl rescued him and led him to safety.
Are these stories legend, truth, symbols, mere imagination or perhaps all simultaneous?
It's hard to deny that even today, the owl guides people on conscious and subconscious levels. The owl, for better or worse, remains a symbol of guidance, believe in the aumakua or not. People have driven the highways here, even recently, when an owl would fly right across the wind shield. Taking it as a "sign", they decided to return home and to forget about reaching their destination. They discovered that, more often than not, they could have been killed by the blow of a fallen rock or tree if they hadn't heeded
the owl's subtle message.
Such are the stories of the Hawaiian owl, a bird of power. When you hear the scream of silence, the rustle of soundless wings, an effortless shadow gliding by, look up in the high blue skies, follow the owl's smooth dive. Pueo's presence might be there for you.
