Manu o Kū found thriving with injured leg

When Fareeha Khawaja recently shared a video of two Manu o Kū visiting her lanai, we noticed one of the pair appeared to be limping. To find out why, she graciously allowed us to stakeout the tree. Photos revealed that the tern has a badly injured or deformed right leg.

Photo by Kelly Furuya

We don't know whether this is a relatively recent injury or something this bird has lived with for a long time. What we do know is that this Manu o Kū is not simply surviving— it’s raising a chick! Although walking and maintaining its grip on a branch clearly takes some extra effort, it continues all the work of being a parent, delivering fish, preening and caring for its chick.

Photo by Kelly Furuya

This isn't the first Manu o Kū we've known that has surprised us with its ability to adapt. An adult tern with a nesting tree at the Waikīkī Aquarium has lived successfully in the wild with only one foot. We've also encountered Manu o Kū with significant beak deformities that nevertheless continue to survive on their own.

These birds remind us how much of their lives we never see. An injury or physical difference that looks devastating to us does not necessarily tell us what a wild bird can or cannot do!
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And we might never have known about this incredible tern had the video not been shared—the true power of community-based science. Mahalo, Fareeha!

Photo by Kelly Furuya