This Week in Nature - The 1st Week in April - Welo/Pueo

What's Happening in Hawaii

During the 1st Week in April:

Welo ka huelo ku.

The standing tails sway.

Welo means "moving with the wind" and is also a Hawaiian name for April. This month's breezes shake the new shoots put forth by vines, making them look so lively that the Hawaiian short-eared owl, pueo, (Asio flammeus sandwichensis) is said to sometimes attack in the mistaken belief that they are the huelo (tails) of rats. Besides recording a biological phenomenon, this proverb involves a play on words between "welo" and "huelo." 

Pueo; Hawaiian Short-eared owl

Photo: C. Tucker

While rats came to Hawaii with the first settlers, pueo are true natives and are revered by some families as 'aumākua, or guardian ancestors. Perhaps because they soar high in the sky yet nest on the ground, pueo are particularly associated with a Hawaiian saying that describes 'aumākua as 'ano lani, 'ano honua - of the heavens and of the earth.

Pueo in flight

Photo(and top photo): Forest and Kim Starr

Pueo figure prominently in Hawaiian myths, including one from Maui in which the owl god Pueo-nui-akea carries wandering souls back to life.

To learn more about the Pueo, visit the Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy webpage and the Pueo fact sheet by clicking here.

Text from "Hawaii: A Calendar of Natural Events"

published by Bishop Museum and Kamehameha Schools in 1989.