Guam Kingfisher

There are three subspecies of Guam kingfishers, on the Pacific Islands, two of which exist in the wild and the third, Todiramphus cinnamomina cinnamomina and the one we will focus on, exists only in zoos. Guam kingfishers, called sihek in the native language of Chamorro, are about the size of a robin, though their head and beak, like other kingfishers, is much larger. Male and female kingfishers are similar, though the females have pale white breast feathers and are slightly larger. They are also carnivorous. They hunt by perching on tree branches and diving down to grab a meal of insects, lizards, crabs, or shrimp. Guam kingfishers usually live alone or in pairs, though their social behavior is complicated. A male and a female will pair and then work together to defend their territory and build a nest, usually in a hole in a tree. Sometime between December and July the female will lay two eggs, and the male and female will defend the nest and bring food to the chicks together. Guam kingfishers live for about 12 years.

The main reason that the Guam kingfisher is extinct in the wild is the brown tree snake. Historically, the island of Guam doesn’t have any big native snakes, allowing the kingfisher and other birds to live in peace. However, around the 1940s, the brown tree snake started appearing on the island. It is likely they came to Guam as stowaways on ships. Because they are not native, brown tree snakes have no natural predators on Guam and easily multiplied. These new snakes began to catching and eating Guam kingfishers and their eggs, and by the 1984 it had gotten bad enough that scientist decided that the only way for this kingfisher to survive would be taking them into captivity. 29 birds were captured, and by 1988 there were no wild birds left on Guam. There are about 145 of these tiny carnivores left in the wild. Other reasons for the Guam kingfisher's demise include destruction of habitats for houses and agriculture, and use of pesticides that contaminate the kingfisher’s prey.