Notes on the Red-billed Leiothrix in Hawaii 
Harvey I. Fisher and Paul H. Baldwin 1 
The name Japanese Hill Robin often 
used in Hawaii for Leiothrix lutea (Scopoli) 
is an unfortunate misnomer, as is Pekin 
Nightingale, because the bird does not occur 
in the wild in Japan nor does it occur as far 
north as Shanghai, much less Pekin or Pei- 
ping. 
Henshaw (1911: 63) recommended the 
introduction of this species into Hawaii as 
early as 1911 and noted that it lives to some 
extent on insects and small fruits. Caum 
(1933: 38-39) states that the species was 
first introduced into the Territory of Hawaii 
in 1918 by Mrs. Dora Isenberg, who liber¬ 
ated several birds on the island of Kauai. 
However, the records kept by the Territorial 
Board of Agriculture and Forestry indicate 
1 Department of Zoology and Entomology, Uni¬ 
versity of Hawaii, and Bernice P. Bishop Museum, 
Honolulu, respectively. 
several small importations previous to this 
time (Table 1). These probably were made 
for cage purposes, but some of the long-time 
residents believe Leiothrix was established in 
the Hawaiian Islands before 1918 by escapees 
from cages. 
In Table 1 are summarized all importa¬ 
tions of the species shown by official records. 
It is worthy of note that the table does not 
include the importations of 1918 and 1928 
from San Francisco mentioned by Caum 
{loc. cit.). There may have been other un¬ 
recorded introductions. The table does show 
a total of 41 importations, including some 
1,037 individuals. These individuals have 
been released on all the larger islands of the 
southeastern end of the Hawaiian Chain; the 
islands are Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Maui, and 
Hawaii. 
From official records the only indication 
TABLE 1 
Ports of Embarkation and Summary of Dates and Numbers of Leiothrix Imported into Hawaii 
YEAR 
PORT OF EMBARKATION 
TOTAL 
Hongkong 
Sydney 
Shanghai 
Kobe 
Yokohama 
1911 . . 
1 
1 
1913 . . 
2,6 
3 
11 
1915 . . 
4 
4 
1916 . . 
5 
2 
• . . . . 
7 
1917 . . 
l, 4, 6,*3 
14 
1918 . . 
.... 
2 
2 
1919 . . 
2, 12, 12 
26 
1922 . . 
1 
1 
1923 . . 
3 
3 
1924 . . 
2 
2 
1928 . . 
*3* 50* 
40, 30, 19 
142 
1929 . . 
6, 184 
190 
1932 . . 
• • • • 
1 
1 
1933 . . 
1 
7 
8 
1934 . . 
75 
75 
1935 . . 
.... 
.... 
28 
28 
1936 . . 
1, 4, 1, 80 
200 
.... 
100, 37, 36 
459 
1937 . . 
1 
2 
.... 
60 
63 
Totals '. 
181 
2 
208 
354 
292 
1,037 
45 
