Video monitoring of Maui Parrotbill in the captive breeding program
Transporting a bird for the captive breeding program
The recovery plan for Maui Parrotbill includes the establishment of a second population on the leeward side of Maui, and captive propagation is expected to play a role in this effort. The Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program (HEBCP) of the San Diego Zoo's Institute for Conservation Research has made notable progress breeding Hawaiian passerines in captivity.
Since the captive breeding program's inception in 1993, 21 Maui Parrotbill eggs have been successfully incubated and hatched, and 18 have been reared to independence (updated 28 October 2013). Second generation Parrotbill have bred in captivity as well.
Currently, infertility caused by pair incompatibility and lack of synchrony in reproductive readiness between paired male and female Maui Parrotbill appears to be slowing production. In recent years, more work has been done to increase pair bonding to create more viable eggs.
To learn more about this program, visit: Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program