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Manu Minute
Wednesdays

Need a break in your day? Whether you're in your car or still in bed, Manu Minute brings you rich sounds from Hawai'i's native forests and shorelines. Each week, we feature a different Hawaiʻi bird and its unique song, and talk about its environment and conservation.

Trying to identify a bird? Call us on The Conversation's talkback line at 808-792-8217 with your name, your location and your email.

Manu Minute is a collaboration between HPR and the LOHE Bioacoustics Lab at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo. The series is hosted by Patrick Hart, the lab's principal investigator, and produced by HPR's Savannah Harriman-Pote and UH Hilo's Ann Tanimoto-Johnson.

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  • On today's Manu Minute, we have got the scratchy calls of a common game bird. Thanks to the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology for these recordings of black francolins.
  • The Nīhoa finch is one of two endemic bird species that call Nīhoa Island home. About 3,000 finches live on the tiny island, which is now part of Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.
  • Although endangered, there are still a few good spots to catch sight of the Maui ʻalauahio.
  • For today's Manu Minute, we've got the mating song of the rock pigeon, which was introduced to Hawaiʻi over 200 years ago. Thanks to the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology for these recordings.
  • ʻŌʻu were once common honeycreepers across all the main Hawaiian Islands, but the last confirmed sighting of an ʻōʻū was on Kauaʻi in 1989. This species is now presumed to be extinct. Listen to the song of this long-lost bird on today's Manu Minute, thanks to recordings from the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology.
  • The koloa māpu is one of Hawaiʻi's most common winter migratory ducks.
  • The Canada goose may look out of place on our tropical shores, but this migratory bird has a long history in our islands. Listen and learn on today's Manu Minute.
  • The endemic ʻalae ʻula is one of a handful of subspecies of the common gallinule, but there's nothing common about this waterbird. Listen to their calls, thanks to the Macaulay Library of the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology.
  • Curious about that black-crested bird you've seen flitting around your Oʻahu neighborhood? That's likely a red-vented bulbul. We've got its song today, thanks to the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
  • ʻAʻo are endemic seabirds that serve important functions on both water and land.