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.

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.

[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.