Extinct Guam Kingfisher Readying For Release On Remote Pacific Island

The Guam kingfisher has been extinct in the wild for almost 40 years but thanks to an intense international conservation effort, this species is now poised on the brink of being released back into the wild.

Exciting news, my friends, especially for those of us who have been eagerly following the progress of the extinct-in-the-wild Guam kingfisher! Nine of these handsome sapphire-and-cinnamon-plumaged birds just arrived on their forever home on a remote Pacific island, Palmyra Atoll. This coral atoll is part of the Northern Line Islands and is located 1,000 miles due south of Hawai’i.

Palmyra Atoll was chosen as the home for sihek because it’s free of snakes, rats and other predators and fully protected. Not only is Palmyra Atoll a US Fish and Wildlife Service National Wildlife Refuge, but it is further protected — out to 50 nautical miles — by the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument, making it the largest stretch of ocean and islands protected under a single jurisdiction in the world. In addition to the USFWS, The Nature Conservancy maintains a preserve and research station within the refuge.

The birds, some mere fledglings at this moment, safely completed a 7,300 km (4,500 miles) flight from Wichita, Kansas to Palmyra Atoll and are temporarily quarantining in aviaries on their new home, according to an update from TNC.

The birds were accompanied on their 14-hour journey by a wildlife veterinarian from Sedgwick County Zoo and a bird husbandry specialist from Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute — both of whom are caring for the birds during the final stages before release – along with representatives from the Guam government. The birds and their human guardians arrived on 28 August 2024.

“Palmyra Atoll is an ideal location for rewilding these magnificent birds,” said Alex Wegmann, Lead Scientist for Island Resilience with the Nature Conservancy in a press release. “It is one of the healthiest land and ocean ecosystems on the planet, is free of invasive predators like rats, is carefully studied and monitored, and is fully protected as a national wildlife refuge and TNC preserve.”

The Guam kingfisher, Todiramphus cinnamominus, better known as the sihek by the indigenous CHamoru people (the first two letters are capitalized to indicate that they make a single sound), were once widespread across the North Pacific island of Guam, but the introduction of the brown tree snake in the 1940s decimated sihek and all other native bird populations, as well as Guam’s native bats — and even its native trees.

Sihek were originally listed under the Guam Endangered Species Act in 1982, before they were subsequently added to the US Endangered Species List in 1984, but tragically, their decline continued. They were officially recognised as Extinct in the Wild after the last wild individual was spotted in 1988. Fortunately, a few quick-thinking people were paying attention to the bird’s dire situation and rescued 28 sihek in the 1980s. These precious birds were taken into the care of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and Guam Department of Agriculture (DOAG).

Currently, there are 127 adults living in 25 institutions across members of the AZA and DOAG. The nine young birds that translocated to Palmyra Atoll will be the first to be released to the wild after 36 years.

“The arrival of the birds to the Palmyra Atoll is an incredible day that the whole partnership has been working toward for years. We’re all feeling so excited and proud,” said Caitlin Andrews, a conservation scientist involved with the translocation effort who also is a joint researcher at ZSL’s Institute of Zoology TNC.

Sihek are fiercely territorial birds and thus, are challenging to breed in captivity, so it’s quite remarkable that they are still with us. The hope is that returning them to the wild will reduce their aggression and alleviate their need for spacious (and expensive) aviaries. It may also inspire additional zoos and aviaries to join the conservation effort, effectively increasing the captive population.

“Returning species to the wild is a long, complex process that requires careful planning and creative solutions,” Dr Andrews noted. “We wouldn’t be here without conservation zoos and the essential role they play in saving species on the brink of extinction, or the decades of restoration work by TNC and its partners allowing Palmyra Atoll to serve as a safe haven for sihek and other wildlife.”

Originally, this species only ever lived on Guam, but the arrival of the nine chicks on Palmyra Atoll is viewed as a positive step in the long-term process of restoring sihek to their native home on Guam, after the invasive brown tree snake and other predators have been dealt with.

“As our beloved sihek — Guahan’s kingfisher — journey to Palmyra Atoll, I feel their resilience reflecting our own,” remarked Yolonda Topasna, DOAG Division of Aquatic and Wildlife (DAWR) Program Coordinator and a member of Guam’s indigenous CHamoru community.

“But their true home is Guam, just as it is ours. We must bring them back to Guam, for their return is vital to restoring our island’s balance and thriving together.”

The plan is to keep the four female and five male sihek chicks in large aviaries in the forest to give them a few weeks to acclimate to the local environment whilst the team prepares to release them. Just prior to release, each bird will be fitted with a tiny tracker so the conservation team can monitor their activity and track their locations as they settle in to their new home. Additional birds will be released annually until 20 sihek have formed breeding pairs and are successfully raising the first wild-born sihek since the 1980s.

“We still have some years to go until sihek establish a self-sustaining population, but this is an amazing milestone, and other success stories show us that it is possible,” explained Caitlin Andrews, one of the conservation scientists behind the sihek translocation and a joint researcher at ZSL’s Institute of Zoology and The Nature Conservancy (TNC).

“We are hopeful that the Palmyra population will flourish and serve as a stepping stone for sihek on their journey home to Guam someday.”

As with any translocation project, it takes time to make sure everything is aligned to give the project the best chances of success. The release was planned to occur several times already, but was pushed back in order to ensure that there were enough chicks for the translocation (read more about that here). But this is the farthest that the team has progressed so far. Needless to say, they are very excited to finally be at this stage and look forward to seeing the birds fly in the wild once more.

“This milestone is great proof of what we can achieve with a shared commitment, tenacity and creativity,” extolled Scott Newland, President and CEO of Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita and the AZA species coordinator for sihek.

“AZA zoos have dedicated resources and expertise to maintain the sihek population for the last 40 years,” Mr Newland continued. “Without the efforts of AZA and the hundreds of animal care specialists whose dedication to sihek has been steadfast, this upcoming release would have not been possible.”

“Returning species to the wild is a long, complex process that requires careful planning and creative solutions,” explained Caitlin Andrews, one of the conservation scientists behind the move and a joint researcher at ZSL’s Institute of Zoology and The Nature Conservancy (TNC).

“We wouldn’t be here without conservation zoos and the essential role they play in saving species on the brink of extinction, or the decades of restoration work by TNC and its partners allowing Palmyra Atoll to serve as a safe haven for sihek and other wildlife.”

“We have been working with our partners on this effort for years, and we are excited to see this first step toward recovering sihek in the wild,” said Wildlife Biologist Megan Laut, Recovery Program Manager at the USFWS Pacific Islands Fish and Wildlife Office in Honolulu. Her team is responsible for identifying needs and implementing recovery related actions for 543 species listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act.

“We are growing the worldwide population of sihek while also learning about their behavior in the wild for the first time in over 30 years. What we learn from the birds on Palmyra will only improve the chances of success once it is safe to release birds on Guam.”