{"id":67802,"date":"2025-12-23T07:09:47","date_gmt":"2025-12-23T12:09:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/?p=67802"},"modified":"2025-12-23T07:09:47","modified_gmt":"2025-12-23T12:09:47","slug":"gallery-art-hawaii-endangered-honeycreeper-akekee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/gallery-art-hawaii-endangered-honeycreeper-akekee\/","title":{"rendered":"Gallery: Ode to Hawaii's Imperiled Honeycreepers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1280\" height=\"1278\" src=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Jon-Ching-Akekee-1280.jpg\" alt=\"fanciful illustration of greenish birds perched on bright flowers and foliage\" class=\"wp-image-67950\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Jon-Ching-Akekee-1280.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Jon-Ching-Akekee-1280-720x719.jpg 720w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Jon-Ching-Akekee-1280-768x767.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Jon-Ching-Akekee-1280-480x479.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Jon Ching&#8217;s whimsical illustration shows two endangered Akekee perching amid ohia lehua blooms, in the style of a Hawaiian shirt.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"toc-link\">From the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/living-bird-winter-2026-table-of-contents\/\">Winter 2026<\/a> issue of Living Bird magazine. <a href=\"https:\/\/join.birds.cornell.edu\/page\/14522\/donate\/1\">Subscribe now<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group sidebar-alignright order-bottom\"><div class=\"article-list list-style\"><h2 class=\"article-list-header\">More From Living Bird<\/h2><ul><li class=\"article-item\"><div class=\"article-item-container\"><div class=\"article-item-media  content-living-bird-toc\" data-link-to=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/living-bird-winter-2026-table-of-contents\/\"><figure class=\"article-item-media-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Stellers-Sea-Eagle_Japan_Liang-Hsien-\u4eae\u8ce2-Chiang-\u6c5f\ud83d\udc08\ufe0e_632503662_MOD-4-3.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Stellers-Sea-Eagle_Japan_Liang-Hsien-\u4eae\u8ce2-Chiang-\u6c5f\ud83d\udc08\ufe0e_632503662_MOD-4-3-720x540.jpg 720w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Stellers-Sea-Eagle_Japan_Liang-Hsien-\u4eae\u8ce2-Chiang-\u6c5f\ud83d\udc08\ufe0e_632503662_MOD-4-3-240x180.jpg 240w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Stellers-Sea-Eagle_Japan_Liang-Hsien-\u4eae\u8ce2-Chiang-\u6c5f\ud83d\udc08\ufe0e_632503662_MOD-4-3-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Stellers-Sea-Eagle_Japan_Liang-Hsien-\u4eae\u8ce2-Chiang-\u6c5f\ud83d\udc08\ufe0e_632503662_MOD-4-3-480x360.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Stellers-Sea-Eagle_Japan_Liang-Hsien-\u4eae\u8ce2-Chiang-\u6c5f\ud83d\udc08\ufe0e_632503662_MOD-4-3.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"\" alt=\"Two large dark-feathered birds standing side by side on snow, one with a bright yellow bill and white wing patches.\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/figure><\/div><div class=\"article-item-body\"><a class=\"article-item-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/living-bird-winter-2026-table-of-contents\/\"><span class=\"article-item-header\">Living Bird Winter 2026\u2014Table of Contents<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/li><li class=\"article-item\"><div class=\"article-item-container\"><div class=\"article-item-media  content-living-bird-toc\" data-link-to=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/living-bird-spring-2026-table-of-contents\/\"><figure class=\"article-item-media-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/living-bird-latest.png\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/living-bird-latest.png 720w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/living-bird-latest-240x180.png 240w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/living-bird-latest-480x360.png 480w\" sizes=\"\" alt=\"Living Bird-latest issue\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/figure><\/div><div class=\"article-item-body\"><a class=\"article-item-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/living-bird-spring-2026-table-of-contents\/\"><span class=\"article-item-header\">Living Bird Magazine\u2014Latest Issue<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/li><li class=\"article-item\"><div class=\"article-item-container\"><div class=\"article-item-media  content-article\" data-link-to=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/living-bird-magazine-archives\/\"><figure class=\"article-item-media-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/living-bird-acrhive.png\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/living-bird-acrhive.png 720w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/living-bird-acrhive-240x180.png 240w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/living-bird-acrhive-480x360.png 480w\" sizes=\"\" alt=\"Living Bird archives\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/figure><\/div><div class=\"article-item-body\"><a class=\"article-item-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/living-bird-magazine-archives\/\"><span class=\"article-item-header\">Living Bird Magazine Archives<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Hawaii-born artist Jon Ching&nbsp;fell in love with painting birds after his partner gave him a book of birds in flight about 10 years ago. \u201cThe feathers, the form, the way the light hit,\u201d Ching recalls. \u201cSomething clicked in my brain.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2024 Ching was named an American Bird Conservancy Conservation and Justice Fellow, leading to a series of lightly surrealist paintings depicting the group of imperiled, native birds called the Hawaiian honeycreepers. Some, such as Akekee (above), have fewer than 100 birds left in their wild populations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAwareness of the birds in Hawaii is starting to grow, but when I was growing up, I had no idea. I couldn\u2019t name one native, endemic bird,\u201d Ching says. \u201cI try to create an emotional connection. \u2026 We\u2019re not gonna save them if we don\u2019t have a relationship with them, or even know that they exist.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>From the Winter 2026 issue of Living Bird magazine. Subscribe now. Hawaii-born artist Jon Ching&nbsp;fell in love with painting birds after his partner gave him a book of birds in<a class=\"excerpt-read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/gallery-art-hawaii-endangered-honeycreeper-akekee\/\" title=\"ReadGallery: Ode to Hawaii&#8217;s Imperiled Honeycreepers\">&#8230; Read more &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":67949,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_tec_requires_first_save":true,"_birdpress_living_bird_toc":67678,"_birdpress_living_bird_toc_title":"Living Bird Winter 2026&mdash;Table of Contents","_birdpress_featured_image":false,"_birdpress_hero_toggle":false,"_birdpress_hero_type":"image","_birdpress_hero_image_type":"image","_birdpress_hero_style":"default","_birdpress_hero_ratio":"","_birdpress_hero_h1":"","_birdpress_hero_media_id":0,"_birdpress_hero_media_array_id":[],"_birdpress_hero_media_array":[],"_birdpress_hero_media":0,"_birdpress_hero_video_id":0,"_birdpress_hero_video":0,"_birdpress_hero_youtube":"","_birdpress_hero_content":true,"_birdpress_hero_byline":"Artwork by Jon Ching, Text by Marc Devokaitis","_birdpress_hero_byline_bottom":"","_birdpress_hero_button_link":"","_birdpress_hero_button_text":"","_birdpress_hero_button_color":"","_birdpress_hero_date":false,"original_guid":"","_birdpress_hide_search":false,"_birdpress_page_width":"","_birdpress_global_cta":false,"_birdpress_widget_sidebar":"","_birdpress_next_article":67678,"_birdpress_next_article_title":"Living Bird Winter 2026\u2014Table of Contents","_birdpress_prev_article":67795,"_birdpress_prev_article_title":"Finches, Redpolls, and Grosbeaks Are in the Forecast for Winter 2026","_birdpress_sub_navigation_id":0,"_birdpress_sub_navigation":"","_birdpress_sub_navigation_title":false,"_birdpress_anchor_navigation_id":0,"_birdpress_anchor_navigation":"","_birdpress_postType":"both","_birdpress_categoryID":0,"_birdpress_tagID":0,"_birdpress_parentPostID":0,"_birdpress_parentPostTitle":"","_birdpress_menuID":0,"_birdpress_menuName":"","_birdpress_listHeader":"","_birdpress_listLayout":"card-display","_birdpress_listColumns":"","_birdpress_maxItems":12,"_birdpress_listPaginate":true,"_birdpress_displaySort":true,"_birdpress_sortOrder":"DESC","_birdpress_sortBy":"date","_birdpress_listID":"","_birdpress_listClass":"","_birdpress_displayImages":true,"_birdpress_displayCaptions":false,"_birdpress_displayExcerpts":false,"_birdpress_attTop":"","_birdpress_attBottom":"","_birdpress_showLogos":false,"_birdpress_post_logo":0,"_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_tribe_blocks_recurrence_rules":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_description":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_exclusions":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_topic":0,"wds_primary_content-format":0,"wds_primary_cornell-lab-project":0,"wds_primary_host-project":0,"wds_primary_read-more-tag":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"topic":[1047,998],"content-format":[1055],"cornell-lab-project":[],"host-project":[],"read-more-tag":[],"class_list":["post-67802","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","topic-art-news-and-features","topic-news-and-features","content-format-article"],"metadata":{"_wds_focus-keywords":[""],"_webdados_fb_open_graph_specific_image":["https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Jon-Ching-Akekee-1.77-social.jpg"],"_webdados_fb_open_graph_specific_description":[""],"_webdados_fb_open_graph_specific_title":[""],"_wds_trimmed_excerpt":["Jon Ching&#039;s whimsical illustration shows two endangered Akekee perching amid ohia lehua blooms, in the style of a Hawaiian shirt. 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