Feral Chickens

Feral cats are a term many of us are familiar with, but how about feral chickens?  Kauai is full of them.  You see (and hear!!) roosters all during the day as well as their hens. We've also seen complete family units with Mom, Dad, and several chicks in tow.  

Apparently, the population of these birds started exploding after Hurricanes Iwa in 1982 and Iniki in 1992 caused the release of thousands of domestic chickens into the wild.  These chickens then interbred with red junglefowl, which are predecessors to modern-day chickens and were introduced to the island by Polynesians many centuries ago.  The result are very colorful -- and vocal -- roosters. For better or worse, they've become a cultural symbol of Kauai and you see their likeness on all sorts of products being sold here.