Common (Hawaiian) Gallinules recorded per party hr on the Waipi'o Christmas

Count (see Count Page) in 1977-2014. Prior to 2007 this species shown similar fluctuations in populations on the Lihue and Kapa'a counts, Kaua'i, related to rainfall levels in the state. Wetter periods (such as 1976-1984 and 1991-1996) are more favorable for moorhens than drought periods (see also Hawaiian Coot and Hawaiian Stilt). The dramatic increase between 2007 and 2014 may represent the results of wetland management at JCNWR and elsewhere in n. O'ahu.

Species account

Graphs of Christmas Count data developed as part of The Birds of the Hawaiian

Islands: Occurrence, History, Distribution, and Status by Robert L. Pyle and Peter Pyle http://hbs.bishopmuseum.org/birds/rlp-monograph/