Manus friarbird | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Passeriformes |
Family: | Meliphagidae |
Genus: | Philemon |
Species: | P. albitorques |
Binomial name | |
Philemon albitorques Sclater, PL, 1877 | |
The Manus friarbird (Philemon albitorques) or white-naped friarbird, also known as the chauka ('souka' in Lele, the local language [2] ) is a species of bird in the Honeyeater family, or Meliphagidae. [3] It is endemic to the Manus Province [4] of Papua New Guinea.
Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.[ citation needed ] It is also commonly found around human habitation, and possibly favoured by human settlement and the more open habitats created by people in many coastal areas. [3]
The chauka is well known to locals on Manus Island, who speak of its ability to tell the time. It could be the most iconic honeyeater within its range in the world, as well as the loudest. [3] Numerous stories and myths about the many abilities and duties of the chauka include alerting people to snakes in trees and informing people about a recent birth in the community. [2]
Its significance to Manus is also reflected in its representation on the Manus provincial flag. Designer of the Manus Province flag, Luke Bulei, explained his reasons for its design in 1977: the chauka is only found in the Manus province; it heralds dawn and signals sunset; it often warns us of dangers; and lastly, it informs us of the success or otherwise of a forthcoming hunting trip. He added that NBC Radio Station had changed its name to Maus Bilong Chauka (Voice of the Chauka) several years before. [4]
The bird was used symbolically in the film Chauka, Please Tell Us the Time , made from within the Manus Island detention centre by refugee Behrouz Boochani and filmmaker Arash Kamali Sarvestani in 2016. [5]
The Admiralty Islands are an archipelago group of 40 islands in the Bismarck Archipelago, to the north of New Guinea in the South Pacific Ocean. These are also sometimes called the Manus Islands, after the largest island.
Manus Province is the smallest province in Papua New Guinea in terms of both land area and population, with a land area of 2,100 square kilometres (810 sq mi), but with more than 220,000 square kilometres (85,000 sq mi) of water, and the total population is 60,485. The provincial town of Manus is Lorengau.
The noisy friarbird is a passerine bird of the honeyeater family Meliphagidae native to southern New Guinea and eastern Australia. It is one of several species known as friarbirds whose heads are bare of feathers. It is brown-grey in colour, with a prominent knob on its bare black-skinned head. It feeds on insects and nectar.
The friarbirds, also called leatherheads, are a groups of 18 relatively large honeyeaters in the genus Philemon. Additionally, the single member of the genus Melitograis is called the white-streaked friarbird. Friarbirds are found in Australia, Papua New Guinea, eastern Indonesia, and New Caledonia. They eat nectar, insects and other invertebrates, flowers, fruit, and seeds.
The little friarbird, also known as the little leatherhead or yellow-throated friarbird, is the smallest of the friarbirds within the Philemon genus. It is found throughout northern and eastern Australia as well as southern Papua New Guinea. It lives a very prominent life, whereby it can easily be seen chasing other honeyeaters, and also it is very vocal. However, the little friarbird is usually spotted high up in trees, rarely being seen on the ground.
The varied honeyeater is a species of bird in the family Meliphagidae. It is found in coastal areas of New Guinea and eastern Cape York Peninsula in Queensland, Australia. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical mangrove forests.
The Manus monarch, also called the Admiralty Islands monarch, the Admiralty monarch, the Admiralty pied monarch, the somber monarch and the unhappy monarch, is a species of bird in the family Monarchidae. It is endemic to the Admiralty Islands of Papua New Guinea.
The helmeted friarbird is part of the Meliphagidae family. The helmeted friarbird, along with all their subspecies, is commonly referred to as “leatherhead” by the birding community.
The New Britain friarbird is a species of bird in the family Meliphagidae. It is endemic to Papua New Guinea.
The New Ireland friarbird is a species of bird in the family Meliphagidae. It is endemic to Papua New Guinea.
The Morotai friarbird or dusky friarbird is a species of friarbird in the honeyeater family Meliphagidae. It is a dark brown bird with pale undersides. The area around the eye is bare and pink. It is around 30 cm long. The species is mimicked by the dusky-brown oriole, which is almost identical in appearance, a situation that has arisen in many species of orioles and friarbirds that exist in the same habitat. This is thought to reduce aggression by the friarbirds against the smaller orioles. It is endemic to the island of Morotai in North Maluku, Indonesia.
The Timor friarbird or plain friarbird is a species of bird in the family Meliphagidae.
The Buru friarbird or black-faced friarbird is a species of bird in the family Meliphagidae. It is endemic to the island of Buru in the Maluku Islands, Indonesia.
The New Guinea friarbird, also known as the Papuan friarbird, is a bird in the Meliphagidae, or honeyeater family. Many taxonomists consider it to be a subspecies of the helmeted friarbird, although some consider it to be a distinct species.
The Seram friarbird, also known as the grey-necked friarbird, Ceram friarbird, grey-necked honeyeater and gray-necked honeyeater, is a species of bird in the family Meliphagidae. It is endemic to Indonesia where it occurs on Seram Island in the Maluku Islands. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical mangrove forests. They are common and conspicuous and often in small groups of up to four individuals.
The Northern New Guinea lowland rain and freshwater swamp forests is a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion of northern New Guinea.
The Tanimbar friarbird is a species of bird in the family Meliphagidae. It is endemic to the Kai and Tanimbar Islands, Indonesia.
Chauka, Please Tell Us the Time is a documentary film co-directed by Kurdish-Iranian refugee Behrouz Boochani and Netherlands-based Iranian filmmaker Arash Kamali Sarvestani released in 2017. It was shot by Boochani from inside Australia's Manus Island detention centre in Papua New Guinea. The whole film was shot over six months on a smartphone, which had to be kept secret from the prison authorities.