INDEX - NATURE
www.islandbreath.org ID#0520-01

SUBJECT: KAUAI FLORA & FAUNA - MOLI

SOURCE: LINDA PASCATORE lindapascatore@me.com

POSTED: 14 OCTOBER 2005 - 7:00am HST

Moli:The Laysan Albatross


photo taken December 2004 by Jay Holcomb of the International Bird Rescue Research Center.
Note: stare of the Moli. More forward looking vision than many other birds

Birds and Plants of Kauai:
Moli
by Linda Pascatore on 13 October 2005

The Moli or Laysan Albatross is a seabird found commonly on Kauai and the Northwest Hawaiian Islands, and to a lesser extent on Oahu, Molokai, Lanai’i and Hawaii. On Kauai, the Moli nests at the Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge and at Barking Sands Beach.

The Moli is 31 to 32 inches long, with a wingspan of 80 inches. They are white with a black tail and upper wings, dark patterns under the wings, with a black patch around the eye and pink bills, legs and feet.

Often called “Gooney Birds” because they are awkward on land, the Moli or Albatross glides gracefully on winds near the surface of the ocean. They begin breeding and nesting in October, and leave in late spring. They lay a single egg in a scrape in the sand that they use to nest. They eat large squid and flying fish eggs.

Source:
Hawaii’s Birds, published by the Hawaiian Audubon Society, 1997.


photo taken in San Pedro California by Susan Kaveggia of the www.IBRRC.org

For more information try http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laysan_Albatross


For more on Hawaiian Nature see below:
Island Breath: Hawaiian Nature Menu
The Flora and Fauna of Hawaii
2 November 2005 - 10:30pm

Puhoehoe: Beach Morning-Glory It is a hardy, salt water resistant plant which is widespread in Hawaii
www.islandbreath.org

Pau

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