On the First Day of Christmas, my ipo gave to me an `elepaio in a koa tree.
Celebrate the First Day of Christmas by helping to protect our Hawaiian forests, and the birds and other life in them. Our forests are critical to the maintenance of our watershed, preserve our limited native soils, help to regulate our climate, and renew the oxygen in the air we breathe.
Many stories celebrate the curious `elepaio, who helps canoe carvers select a good tree. Identified with the forest goddess Lea, a patroness of canoe carvers, `elepaio lives on the bugs found under the bark of decaying koa trees. If the bird circles a tree and then abandons it, the tree is sound and may be carved into a sturdy canoe. If the bird lands and starts pecking at the trunk, the tree has insect holes, and is not suitable for a canoe.
Today, koa is used not only for canoes, but by local artisans to make many beautiful household and decorative items. With the loss native forests, koa, `elepaio, and other native species are becoming ever more scarce.
Help preserve our forests by joining and supporting such groups as:
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