Ae'o Hawaiian Stilt Habitat

In 1985, Ae'o were found on all of the Hawaiian Islands except for Lana'i, Kaho'olawe, and possibly Hawaii. As with other Hawaiian waterbirds, the loss of their wetlands caused the number of stilts to decrease to about 200 Ae'os. Today, there are more than 1,400 Ae'o found in Hawaiian marshlands.

The Ae'o forage, or feed and nest in different wetland areas. They like to live in places with low growing plants, inshore reefs, beach areas, and ocean flats. Ae'o are rarely found in wetlands above 660 feet of elevation. By placing tags on the stilts' legs, scientists have found that the Ae'o fly from one island to the next.