NOAA Pacific Islands Ocean Exploration Center: After Hours Speaker w/ Rich Down, Manu o Kū
Rich Downs is a biologist with Pacific Rim Conservation and coordinator of Hui Manu-o-Kū. He will talk about the manu o kū (white tern), Honolulu’s urban seabird—a native Hawaiian species that has made the city part of its natural home. A pelagic bird of the tropical Pacific, it spends most of its life at sea and uniquely lays its egg on bare tree branches without building a nest. In Hawaiian tradition, it is associated with Kū and is honored as the official bird of the City and County of Honolulu. Oʻahu is the only main Hawaiian island where white terns breed, and Honolulu is the only major Pacific city with a thriving urban breeding population since their return in 1961. Hui Manu-o-Kū works to protect these birds and connect the community to a species now woven into Honolulu’s natural and cultural identity.
This talk is part of the Year of Our Coastal Kuleana, a year long celebration of Hawaiʻi’s coasts. Learn more at dlnr.hawaii.gov/coasts.
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