Researchers track risk of avian malaria to future of Hawaii’s native birds

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – A new study published Tuesday is helping scientists understand why avian malaria is present in almost all of the same places that mosquitoes are found in Hawaii.

Research out of the University of Hawaii at Manoa suggests that avian malaria can be transmitted by nearly all forest bird species in the state.

The study found that 63 out of 64 sites across the islands had avian malaria, including areas with diverse bird communities.

“Avian malaria has taken a devastating toll on Hawaii’s native forest birds, and this study shows why the disease has been so difficult to contain,” said Christa Seidl, mosquito research and control coordinator for the Maui Forest Bird Recovery Project, who conducted this research as part of her PhD at the University of California Santa Cruz.

The disease, which is caused by a parasite, poses a serious risk of population declines and even extinctions in native Hawaiian honeycreepers.

Seidl says the key to protecting native birds from avian malaria is controlling mosquito populations.

“When so many bird species can quietly sustain transmission, it narrows the options for protecting native birds and makes mosquito control not just helpful, but essential,” Seidl said.

Studies have shown that iʻiwi, or scarlet honeycreepers, had a 90% mortality rate if infected with avian malaria.

The akikiki, a Hawaiian honeycreeper native to Kauai, is now considered extinct in the wild.

“We often understandably think first of the birds when we think of avian malaria, but the parasite needs mosquitoes to reproduce, and our work highlights just how good it has gotten at infecting them through many different birds,” Seidl said.

The study analyzed blood samples from more than 4,000 birds across Kauai, Oahu, Maui, and Hawaii Island.

Researchers found that both introduced birds and native birds often had overlapping levels of infectiousness, meaning both groups can spread the disease.

The broad ability of avian malaria to spread likely explains why the disease is so prevalent across the islands.

Seidl and the Maui Forest Bird Recovery Project are part of Birds, Not Mosquitoes, a group that aims to tackle mosquito control for the future of Hawaiian bird conservation.

Copyright 2026 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.