Hawaiin Quail

[VanIsleCam]

Its hard to turn the hunting instinct off and although I nailed my first moose and a buck fawn already this year (stories to follow), I have a hard time just shutting off the need to supplement our diet with wild meat. So I am constantly trying to catch beasties with whatever I have on hand and with whatever means available. <br>
The Hawaiin Quail though cagey, is common to the Islands - locals refer to it as "Mahalona Hackluna" aka "Flying Rat" in English. Despite the name, we found these to be fine eating and a great addition to an Island breakfast with fruit salsa to take the garbage taint away. My daughter was dissatisfied with her Belgian waffles and wanted meat so...


My first harvest was lucky as the Mahalona had grown used to humans moving amongst them. Tasty, but not the challenge I was looking for. As a result, and to prove my skills, I set after the Greater Mahalona, found only on beaches far from civilization. The Belgian waffles did not work after 4 days of bait and stalk, so I switched to Ritz crackers shaped like snow flakes. Waiting till midday, I harvested a Greater Mahalona on a beach with waves breaking against jagged rocks.


We cooked the Greater Mahalona with palm skewers. It was delicious!
Aloha,
VanIsleCam

 

[PatchRat]

I was so focused on the idea of hunting pigs with a knife last time I was in Hawaii, I never considered game birds!!! I'll have to try it next time I'm there!

(P.s. - I highly recommend marrying "up". There's nothing quite like crashing an in-laws island getaway.)

 

[Ardent]

There are a lot of conventional quail (can't make out if you're holding one in the second pic) you can hunt on Mauna Kea, along with wild turkey. You can do it self guided as well, Big Island has lots of public area open to hunting. You could easily harvest one with a rock.

 

[1963beretta]

Interesting! From the pictures you posted, those look a lot like pigeons

 

[badgreenbird]

Indeed. I don't know the Hawaiian word for 'pigeon', but I think you could do better. Certainly on Kauai (and most other main islands?) there are lots of feral chickens that would make a better meal. And plenty of introduced game birds running around the resorts (francolin, quail, pheasant).

Next time I go to Hawaii, it will be the Big Island and I WILL do some bird hunting!

 

[VanIsleCam]

Oh snap - so I need to go back to the bird book?