Birds Carry Plants to Hawaii

Three-quarters of Hawaii’s native flowering plants probably come from seeds that hitched rides with birds. The bird-borne seeds that sprouted in Hawaii evolved into more than a thousand new species. The most likely seed-carriers were undoubtedly strong fliers, such as plovers or tropicbirds — like this Red-tailed Tropicbird — which travel thousands of miles across the Pacific. (Enlarge the photo, to see the bird's red tail.)

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