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Online Field Guides — Hawaii Nature Identification Websites

ByKate Righter

These are just a few online resources that I’ve found to help identify the amazing array of species in Hawaii. View this post for links to books you can purchase to bring with you on outings or have available in your classroom, and this post for printable ID cards.

In this post you will find:

A great place to start your learning journey is this education page from Division of Forestry & Wildlife.

https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/dofaw/education/learn

Flora and Fauna — including plants, animals, and insects

Hawaii Biodiversity: https://hawaiibiodiversity.org/

Pilina Inoa (identification using Hawaiian taxonomy): https://www.pilinainoa.com/

Hawaiian Forest- Photography by the late, great Nate Yuen: https://hawaiianforest.com/wp

Starr Envionmental Photography: http://www.starrenvironmental.com/

Photos and links to information about plants and birds: https://wildlifeofhawaii.com

Wetland and dryland forest habitat information: https://healthyclimatecommunities.org/project-site/

A variety of topics from UH Master Gardener’s website: https://cms.ctahr.hawaii.edu/uhmgprogram/Tropical-Topics

Botany — Plant specific databases

A great place to start is with Bishop Museum’s extensive database, Plants of Hawaii: https://plantsofhawaii.org/

Forest and Kim Starr are prolific photographers and their plant photo database is impressive… and have a creative commons copyright which allows use as long as they’re credited, which means you’ve likely seen their images before: http://www.starrenvironmental.com/images/

National Tropical Botanical Gardens on Kauai has a plant database: https://ntbg.org/database/plants/

The Maui Nui Botanical Gardens also have a plant database that’s specifically for native Hawaiian species: https://mnbg.org/hawaiian-native-plant-collection/home/

Hui ku maoli ola is a native plant nursery with a database with information about the plants they grow and the cultural history of the plants (also a great place to visit to buy plants!)

Manoa Heritage Center’s Hawaiian plant guide, includes photos, cultural and historical information, plus links for further learning: https://www.manoaheritagecenter.org/moolelo/hawaiian-plants/

Native Plants Hawaii (note that their search function doesn’t work, but the listing does): http://nativeplants.hawaii.edu/plant/

Noah Lang Photography – Native Plant Guide – https://noahlangphotography.com/blog/native-hawaiian-plant-guide

Seeds of Hawaii – lovingly photographed with beautiful, zoomed in details: https://seedsofhawaii.org/

Plants of Hawaii: https://www.oahunativeplants.com/

Edible weeds: https://nomoola.com/weeds-id/ (note: eat wild plants at your own risk; if you’re in any doubt confirm the identity with an expert or don’t eat them.)

Hawaiian native plant database from UH: http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty/carr/natives.htm

Lichen database: https://manoa.hawaii.edu/lifesciences/lichen-pictures/

Moss research: https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/items/83692e7c-f27e-4f53-bae3-fd67fdabe43c

Birds

DLNR has two great sites to choose from:
The Native Birds of Hawaii database includes links to information, photos, recordings, and more about all the native species in Hawaii.
The Species Fact Sheets database has printable pdfs with species information as well as conservation action plans.

Pacific Rim Conservation’s bird image galleries: https://pacificrimconservation.org/image-galleries/

More links for shorebirds and seabirds here: https://hawaiinaturejournal.org/shorebirds-and-seabirds-in-hawaii/

Checklist: Garden Birds: free printable checklist of common garden birds by Ho’omaluhia Botanical Gardens.

Community ID

Marine Life — The sea and the shore

DLNR has a great, simple illustrated guide of commonly found fish, invertebrates, and corals, and algae.

More State of Hawaii marine animal resources: https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/dar/species/

Keoki Stender’s marine life ID site (plus land flora and fauna as well!): https://www.marinelifephotography.com/

Maui Ocean Center database: https://mauioceancenter.com/hawaiis-marine-life/

Waikiki Aquarium virtual experiences and animal, plant, and seaweed guide: https://www.waikikiaquarium.org/experience/

Guide to invasive marine species, including seaweed, corals, fish, and jellyfish: https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/ais/marine-invasive-species/

University of Hawaii at Manoa’s Marine Algae Pages: https://www.hawaii.edu/reefalgae/natives/sgfieldguide.htm

Limu in Papahānaumokuākea (many found on the main Hawaiian islands as well): https://nmspapahanaumokuakea.blob.core.windows.net/papahanaumokuakea-prod/media/archive/new-library/pdf/limu-poster.pdf

General algae webpage: www.algaebase.org

Printable reference sheets of common intertidal organisms: https://www.hawaii.edu/gk-12/opihi/assistants_home.shtml

Common organisms found in a coral reef: https://nmspapahanaumokuakea.blob.core.windows.net/papahanaumokuakea-prod/media/archive/mdc/pdfs/coral-id-sheet.pdf (Follow along with this video to learn more about them: https://www.papahanaumokuakea.gov/mdc/coral-lesson/)

Your other option is to upload photos to a community based program (available as apps orwebsites) — which also helps with compiling data for use by scientists worldwide.

All of nature: https://www.inaturalist.org

Birds: https://ebird.org/home

Mushrooms: https://mushroomobserver.org

There are also a number of Facebook groups where helpful members will help with identification.

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