‘Akekeke spend their days probing among rocks and pebbles along the shoreline in search of insects, especially flies, spiders, beetles, and grubs. Outside of the breeding season, however, their diet becomes much more diversified, extending to crustaceans, mollusks, worms, small fish, and even carrion, rubbish, and bird eggs.

During breeding season, ‘Akekeke range from the eastern coast of Greenland to the north-eastern coast of Siberia, with most of the North American population concentrated on the northern coast of Alaska and the Arctic islands north of Canada. In winter, ‘Akekeke range across a wide swath of tropical coastal regions from southeastern Asia to southwestern Africa and southern Europe. In Hawai‘i, ‘Akekeke are more prevalent on shorelines of the NWHI than in the MHI.

For more information and references, visit the DLNR State Wildlife Action Plan factsheets.

Across most of their winter range, primary threats to ‘Akekeke are human industrial and recreational activity leading to habitat loss and degradation by means of chemical contamination and disturbance. Avian diseases are also a threat.