Uploaded September 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
The Nēnē is one of at least five species of geese that evolved on Hawaiʻi, including the Nēnē Nui (wood-walking goose) and the flightless Giant Hawaiʻi Goose. Today, the Nēnē is the only survivor, and one of the rarest goose species in the world. Based on fossil DNA, these Hawaiian geese are closely related to the Canada Goose, which was thought to have migrated to the islands over 500,000 years ago.
Another interesting group of waterfowl, the moa-nalos (lost fowl), once inhabited most of the Hawaiian Islands, but were quickly driven to extinction when humans arrived on the archipelago. These large, flightless, goose-like birds were actually more closely related to ducks such as the Mallard, had serrated bills with “teeth” like a Red-breasted Merganser, and were herbivores, grazing on ferns and other native vegetation.
The Nēnē is the official state bird of Hawaiʻi, and is mentioned in the Kumulipo (the Hawaiian creation chant) as being a guardian spirit of the land, symbolizing a link between the mountains and the coast because of their seasonal movements.
The Nēnē’s genus name, Branta, is the Latin form of the Old Norse word brandgás, meaning burnt. Its species name sandvicensis refers to the Sandwich Islands, the name previously used by Europeans for what is known today as the Hawaiian Islands. This bird’s Hawaiian name, Nēnē, refers to the sound of its soft honks.
Learn more about the Nēnē at abcbirds.org/bird/nene
The Nēnē is one of at least five species of geese that evolved on Hawaiʻi, including the Nēnē Nui (wood-walking goose) and the flightless Giant Hawaiʻi Goose. Today, the Nēnē is the only survivor, and one of the rarest goose species in the world. Based on fossil DNA, these Hawaiian geese are closely related to the Canada Goose, which was thought to have migrated to the islands over 500,000 years ago.
Another interesting group of waterfowl, the moa-nalos (lost fowl), once inhabited most of the Hawaiian Islands, but were quickly driven to extinction when humans arrived on the archipelago. These large, flightless, goose-like birds were actually more closely related to ducks such as the Mallard, had serrated bills with “teeth” like a Red-breasted Merganser, and were herbivores, grazing on ferns and other native vegetation.
The Nēnē is the official state bird of Hawaiʻi, and is mentioned in the Kumulipo (the Hawaiian creation chant) as being a guardian spirit of the land, symbolizing a link between the mountains and the coast because of their seasonal movements.
The Nēnē’s genus name, Branta, is the Latin form of the Old Norse word brandgás, meaning burnt. Its species name sandvicensis refers to the Sandwich Islands, the name previously used by Europeans for what is known today as the Hawaiian Islands. This bird’s Hawaiian name, Nēnē, refers to the sound of its soft honks.
Learn more about the Nēnē at abcbirds.org/bird/nene
