“When you think of the birds of Hawaii you probably think first of its endemic forest birds. Many of these birds are brightly colored and highly evolved to survive in remote forest patches on isolated islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. If you go to Hawaii to see birds, these are probably the birds you go to see. It usually comes as a surprise that the official bird of the city of Honolulu is not one of these iconic Hawaiian birds. Instead, that distinction goes to a seabird common to the tropics – the White Tern. Hawaiians refer to this plain white bird as the Manu o Ku, a name loaded with historical and cultural significance. This talk focuses on this least colorful of the birds of Hawaii, a real “urban seabird.”

Presented by Rich Downs, who for the past 4 years has been coordinating the efforts of an array of government agencies, education institutions and conservation groups to enhance awareness, appreciation, understanding and conservation of the white tern. He also leads a citizen science project to better understand this understudied species and the fascinating story of its unique relationship with the most developed part of the Hawaiian Island chain. Rich is an amateur ornithologist and bird photographer who divides his time between Honolulu and his home in Maryland.”

This event is co-sponsored with The Sussex Bird Club.

NOTE: this session is conducted through Zoom. You MUST REGISTER to receive instructions for joining the meeting.

If you have need assistance with registration or getting your Zoom invitation, please email us.

Basic written instructions for using Zoom may be found here and a brief video tutorial may be found here