A Moa is More than a Chicken
Posted on May 09, 2010 under Big Island Wildlife |Hawaii’s Special Breed of Wild Fowl.
You may have seen them on roadsides, in parks, on the edges of forests, or even around the resort areas such as Waikoloa and Mauna Lani–the proud, brilliantly colored males or the more nondescript females. But look again: This is no ordinary chicken. The legs are grey instead of yellow. The head is shaped like a pheasant‘s. The female is smaller than your average chicken and has a practically nonexistent comb.
Moas, as the Hawaiians call them, are believed to be the original chicken from whence all domestic poultries came–at least according to Charles Darwin. These ancient species are natives of India and South Asia.
The red jungle fowl was brought to the Islands by early Polynesians on their voyages to the Pacific, along with turkeys, in order to create a food source. Over the years the wild fowl multiplied and interbred with ordinary chickens and today are widespread throughout the Islands, almost uncontrollably so in Kauai. The remarkable thing about this quirky bird, however, is that it is the only animal that doesn’t lose his original geneology when he breeds.
The red jungle fowl’s eggs are constantly in danger by predators, especially mongooses. That’s why the hens, who usually roost in bushes on the ground, have brown and black plumage with rusty streaks around the collar. The more ornate males roost in trees at night. Their diet consists of seeds, fruit and insects, including centipedes (thankfully), and they enjoy rice. These birds are shy and tend to hide when there are people around.
A member of the pheasant family, the red jungle fowl has been on the planet for thousands of years and is associated with a plethora of myths and legends. There is now wide concern that the genetically pure red jungle fowl faces serious extinction due to cross-breeding with domestic fowl. In addition to red jungle fowl, many scientists have now confirmed that the grey jungle fowl may have had an influence as the original ancestor of the domesticated chicken.
So, the next time you catch a glimpse of that moa near the roadside in Hawaii, chances are you are looking at a close derivative of the earth’s very first chicken–a rare animal indeed.
