[00:01.14]Hawaii's 20 surviving species of honeycreeper also evolved from just a few individuals
[00:07.15]Compared to seabirds,
[00:08.50]honeycreepers are poor fliers
[00:10.88]So how did the ancestors of these forest birds and Hawaii's other castaways get here?
[00:16.49]The answer may be blowing in the wind
[00:19.73]Even the gentlest breeze can have a huge impact
[00:23.73]Tree ferns stir and release their lightweight spores
[00:27.36]Thermal updrafts can carry the spores 30,000 feet into the jet stream
[00:32.25]And there are even animals designed to ride these high-altitude air currents
[00:36.92]Near-weightless spiderlings are expert ballooners,
[00:40.45]catching the wind with their gossamer threads
[00:43.49]Like spores,they, too, can hitch a ride on the jet stream
[00:47.62]Enduring temperatures of minus 30 degrees centigrade,
[00:51.46]a spider can cross the breadth of the Pacific in a matter of days