GUAM KING FISHER | SIHEK
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The sihek is a bird endemic to the island of Guam, meaning this specific species of sihek is only found on Guam.
The male has a full cinnamon-colored body plumage, cerulean stripe near the
eye, and cerulean wings.The female has a white body plumage.
The Guam sihek excavate their nest together as a part of the mating ritual process. Both male and female incubate the egg and care for the young.
The decline of the Guam sihek potentially began after WWII; however,
the full effect of the decline was not observed until the 1980s. The last Guam sihek was seen in the wild in 1988. The Guam sihek has been declared extinct in the wild since then.
Their decline and extinction in the wild is mainly contributed to the arrival of a foreign/invasive species, the brown tree snake. Birds have been in captivity since 1984. Present day, a population of 140 is all that remains.
In addition to the presence of the brown tree snake, other threats to the sihek include: habitat loss, habitat disturbance by feral ungulates presence, and the abundance of stray cats and dog. These threats will have to be managed in order to continue to delay the return of the sihek to Guam.
Source:
Guam Department of Agriculture, Division of Aquatic and Wildlife Resources
163 Dairy Road Mangilao, Guam 96913
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