Guam kingfisher (sihek)

What is the Guam kingfisher and why is it imperiled?

The Guam kingfisher or sihek (Todiramphus cinnamominus) is a bird that is native to the island of Guam, a small U.S. territory located in the Pacific Ocean. By about 1950, the brown tree snake (Boiga irregularis) was accidentally introduced to the island. The snakes possibly reached Guam on ship that came from the Admiralty Islands near New Guinea, where the snakes are native.

The brown tree snake population on Guam exploded as the snakes fed on native animals, especially other reptiles, bats, and forest birds, including the Guam kingfisher. The snakes have caused the extinction of many animals native to Guam. The Guam kingfisher went extinct in the wild around 1988, although some birds were captured and kept alive in captivity.

What is being done to conserve the Guam kingfisher?

Prior to the complete extinction of the Guam kingfisher, 29 birds were captured for a captive breeding program, with the goal of reintroducing the birds to Guam once the brown tree snake population is brought under control. Since that time, captive breeding has increased the population of these kingfishers to more than 150. 

In an attempt to learn more about how the Guam kingfisher behaves in the wild, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has approved a plan to introduce a small number of the birds to Palmyra Atoll in the remote Pacific, where they can be studied. No kingfishers are native to the atoll.

What are the barriers to Guam kingfisher recovery?

The biggest barrier to reintroducing kingfishers to Guam is the continuing presence of the brown tree snake. Some progress is being made in controlling the snake on Guam through the use of acetaminophen-laced baits that are dispersed from the air (acetaminophen or paracetamol is sold as a pain reliever in drugstores, but it is poisonous to brown tree snakes). Trapping efforts and snake-detecting dogs have been successfully used to prevent the brown tree snake from spreading to other Pacific islands.

The captive Guam kingfisher population also faces several challenges. One challenge is that the captive population of birds has low genetic diversity because they all descend from the same group of ancestors, a phenomenon known as the founder effect. It is also difficult to house the territorial birds in captivity. Finally, captive birds are not good at raising their own chicks and may not have the skills to survive in the wild.

How are institutions in Albuquerque helping the Guam kingfisher?

Albuquerque Biopark first joined the Guam kingfisher captive breeding program in 2007, taking in first two male birds and later two female birds. Since that time, some of the kingfishers at the Biopark have mated and produced chicks, helping to maintain the population.