[[File:Hawaiianislandchain_USGS.png|thumb|upright=1.4|Map showing the location of Nihoa in the Hawaiian island chain]]
'''Nihoa''' ({{IPAc-en|n|iː|ˈ|h|oʊ|.|ə}}; {{lang-haw|Nīhoa}} {{IPA-|haw|niːˈhowə|}} or {{lang-haw|Nihoa}} {{IPA-|haw|niˈhowə|}}), also known as '''Bird Island''' or '''Moku Manu''', is the tallest of ten islands and atolls in the uninhabited [[Northwestern Hawaiian Islands]] (NWHI). The island is located at the southern end of the NWHI chain, {{convert|296|km|nmi|0|abbr=on}} southeast of [[Necker Island (Hawaii)|Necker Island]]. Nihoa is the closest NWHI in proximity to the eight main windward [[Hawaiian Islands]] at approximately {{convert|240|km|nmi|0|abbr=on}} northwest of the island of [[Kauai|Kaua{{okina}}i]]. The island has two peaks, {{convert|272|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} Miller's Peak in the west, and {{convert|259|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} Tanager Peak in the east. Nihoa's area is about {{convert|171|acres|km2|abbr=on}} and is surrounded by a {{convert|142000|acre|adj=on}} [[coral reef]]. Its jagged outline gives the island its name, {{lang|haw|Nīhoa}}, which is [[Hawaiian language|Hawaiian]] for "toothed, serrated".<ref name="Wehewehe-nihoa">{{citation|title="nihoa" entry|dictionary=Hawaiian Dictionary|year=2003|editor-first1=Mary|editor-last1=Pukui|editor-first2=Samuel|editor-last2=Elbert|url=https://wehewehe.org/gsdl2.85/cgi-bin/hdict?e=q-11000-00---off-0hdict--00-1----0-10-0---0---0direct-10-ED--4--textpukuielbert%2ctextmamaka-----0-1l--11-haw-Zz-1---Zz-1-home-n%c4%abhoa--00-4-1-00-0--4----0-0-11-00-0utfZz-8-00&a=d&d=D14398#hero-bottom-banner|quote=Pas[sive]/imp[erative]. of niho; toothed, serrated, notched, jagged, sharp...|publisher=University of Hawaiʻi Press}}</ref>
The island is home to 25 species of plants and several animals, making it the most diverse island in the entire NWHI. Endemic birds like the [[Nihoa finch]] and [[Nihoa millerbird]], and endemic plants like ''[[Pritchardia remota]]'' and ''[[Schiedea verticillata]]'' are found only on Nihoa. ''[[Amaranthus brownii]]'' was considered the rarest plant on Nihoa and has not been directly observed on the island since 1983, and is now considered to be extinct. The plant communities and rocky outcrops provide nesting and perching areas for 18 species of seabirds, such as [[red-footed boobies]] and [[brown noddies]], terns, shearwaters, and petrels. Prehistoric evidence indicates Native Hawaiians lived on or visited the island around AD 1000, but over time the location of Nihoa was mostly forgotten, with only an oral legend preserving its name. Captain [[James Colnett]] rediscovered the island in 1788, and [[Kaʻahumanu|Queen Kaʻahumanu]] visited it in 1822. It was made part of the [[Kingdom of Hawaii]] by [[Kamehameha IV|King Kamehameha IV]].
