The pueo (Asio flammeus sandwichensis ) is a subspecies of the short-eared owl and is endemic to Hawaii. The pueo is one of the more famous of the various physical forms assumed by ʻaumākua (ancestor spirits) in Hawaiian culture.
Pueo inhabit forests and grasslands throughout the islands of Hawaiʻi, although their numbers seem to be declining, particularly in the last two decades, and especially on the island of Oʻahu, upon which they were at one time numerous. Pueo is listed by the state of Hawaiʻi as an endangered species on the island of Oʻahu.
Oviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
Altricial animals are those species whose newly hatched or born young are relatively immobile. They lack hair or down, are not able to obtain food ...
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Pueo nest on the ground, which makes their eggs and young susceptible to predation by the introduced small Asian mongoose and other predators.
Pueo are strongly affected by light pollution. They are often killed in vehicular accidents in which they dive toward the headlights of cars, possibly in an attempt to hunt. Many such collisions have been reported on Interstate H-3 and other newly built roadways in areas which once held high populations of pueo.
Pueo appear to be somewhat resistant to the avian malaria that has devastated many other endemic bird populations in Hawaii; however, they have recently become victim to a mysterious "sick owl syndrome", or SOS, in which large numbers of pueo have been found walking dazedly on roads, leading to death by collision. The cause of sick owl syndrome is unknown; it is suspected that pesticide toxicity may be responsible, particularly through secondary rodenticide poisoning. However, it has also been hypothesized that the cause may be an infectious agent, seizure-like confusion due to light pollution, or a variety of other causes.
