State wildlife officials, disturbed about evidence that several native Kaua'i forest birds are fast declining in numbers, have launched an emergency program of population studies to try to determine what's going on and where.

Crews of biologists will be dispatched into the Kaua'i Alaka'i Wilderness Preserve, looking in particular for the 'akeke'e and 'akikiki, also known as the Kaua'i 'akepa and the Kaua'i creeper, which seem to be missing from many of their normal habitats.

"The news is very disturbing but we are focusing efforts to get answers quickly so that we can take action as soon as possible," said Peter Young, chairman of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources. "We saw the tragic rapid decline and probable extinction of the po'ouli on Maui in the last year or so. That is a clear and powerful reminder that protection and restoration is needed early-on, before populations reach critically low numbers."

After the surveys, research programs will try to identify causes for any detected decline, including the presence of diseases in the bird population.

Survey teams will include state biologists as well as volunteer bird watchers and scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey's Pacific Islands Ecosystems Research Center, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, University of Hawai'i Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit, The Nature Conservancy, Kaua'i Invasive Species Committee, and staff of the Keauhou Bird Conservation Center.

Five of the 13 native forest birds that were found in the Kaua'i mountains half a century ago are believed to be extinct.

Reach Jan TenBruggencate at jant@honoluluadvertiser.com.