Nēnē
Evolved from Canada goose ancestors, nēnē traded strongly webbed feet for better walking across Hawaiian lava and upland grasslands.
Artwork inspired by Madge Tennent
Nēnē are found only in Hawaiʻi and now occupy several islands after captive breeding, releases, habitat protection, and predator control rebuilt a population once reduced to only a few dozen wild birds. They graze leaves, fruit, seeds, and flowers across shrubland, grassland, lava, and managed landscapes.
Recovery places birds close to roads, parking lots, and people. Feeding makes them approach vehicles and can increase injury, while dogs and introduced predators threaten nests. Slow down where signs request it, keep food put away, and give a walking family room to choose its own path.
- Hawaiian name
- Nēnē
- Range
- Hawaiian Islands only
- Adaptation
- Reduced webbing for walking
Quick guide
- Look
- Buff cheek beneath a black crown.
- Yield
- Stop and let roadside birds cross.
Recognize a goose shaped by lava country
- Face
- Buff cheeks contrast with a black crown and bill.
- Neck
- Pale diagonal furrows stripe a dark neck.
- Feet
- Long legs and reduced webbing support walking on rough ground.
- Behavior
- Pairs and families often graze rather than remain on open water.
Good to know
Nēnē may appear tame around developed areas, but approachability is not permission. Habituation increases collision and feeding risk, and federal and state protections still apply.
Notice these
- Buff cheeks
- Furrowed neck
- Long walking legs