Kahuli Aku - Traditional
Kahuli aku Kahuli mai Kahuli lei ula Lei akolea Kolea, kolea Ki`i ka wai Wai akolea Wai akolea		Turn little shell Turn this way little shell The tree shell is a red ornament in The lei of the akolea fern Little bird, little bird Go down to the stream Sip the sweet nectar From the akolea fern
Source: This old chant was set to music by Winona Beamer. The kahuli (tree snails) or pupu kanioe (land shells) are the singing snails of legend. The shells chirp in the evening and ask the birds to bring them a drink of water. The kolea is the Pacific Golden Plover (pluvialis dominca) that migrates to Hawaii in late August, stays until April, then returns home to Alaska and Siberia. The endemic snails, once numbering 35-40 different species, with their colorful patterns & designs were once abundant on all islands, but are rapidly declining and are now found only in mountain forests. The ground dwelling snail (amastridae) number only about 12 species as compared to the 300 species, a century ago. The pupumoeone, found only on Niihau and Kaua`i live underground in sand dunes far removed from the ocean.