The Mating Song Of The Last Kauai ‘O’o Bird On Earth Is Haunting

When you hear birds chirping in the springtime, it’s safe to say that they’re calling out to potential mates. Because it’s such an ordinary sound, it probably doesn’t occur to you that it could be the last time that bird’s call is ever heard. While it’s a far-fetched idea, that was the thought going through the heads of researchers in 1987 as they recorded the last male Kauai ‘O’o bird singing on the Hawaiian island of Kauaʻi.

The small bird had been pushed to extinction by the introduction of non-native species. By 1987, there was only one left — a single male. In the video below, you can hear the last mating song of the Kauai ‘O’o bird as he calls out to a mate that would never answer.

(source: Robert Davis )

Honestly, listening to that bird’s song and writing this moved me to tears. How many more species have to slip away before humanity gets its act together?