2022 Bonanza Bird #4

The Guam Kingfisher: A Fight for Survival and Hope for Reintroduction

Birdorable Guam Kingfisher

Today a bird that cannot be seen in the wild joins Birdorable. While there is hard work and much hope that the Guam Kingfisher can be reintroduced into the wild, the last free flying individuals were seen in the mid-1980s.

Their population was decimated by a non-native snake, the Brown Tree Snake. The introduction of this Asian snake to Guam was devastating to many native species on the island.

With just 29 individual Guam Kingfishers remaining in 1986, in order to save the species, all of the birds were captured for captive breeding. Today the captive population is close to 140 individuals. Conservationists are hoping to reintroduce the Guam Kingfisher into the wild on a snake-free island near Guam.

Guam Kingfishers have a pretty plumage with a rufous head with black eyestripe, and blue-green wings, back, and rump. Males have rufous underparts. Our Birdorable bird has a white belly; she is a female.

Guam Kingfisher by Fred Faulkner (CC BY 2.0)

Tomorrow's new Birdorable is the world's northernmost species of toucan. Do you know the name of this little bird?

Comments

Matias on December 8, 2022 at 9:13 PM wrote:
Is it the Northern Emerald-Toucanet (Aulacorhynchus prasinus)?

Leave a comment

Comments with links or HTML will be deleted. Your comment will be published pending approval.
Your email address will not be published
You can unsubscribe from these communications at any time. For more information on how to unsubscribe, our privacy practices, and how we are committed to protecting and respecting your privacy, please review our Privacy Policy. By clicking submit below, you consent to allow Birdorable to store and process the personal information submitted above to provide you the content requested.

2013 Bonanza Bird #27: African Fish-Eagle

Happy Saturday! Today's Bonanza bird is the African Fish-Eagle. African Fish-Eagles are large birds of prey that live in sub-Saharan parts of Africa. They eat a lot of fish (hence the name), but they will also steal prey from other birds or take...

T-Shirt Tuesday: Nine Backyard Birds from Northeast USA

This week's featured t-shirt is the Women's American Apparel T-Shirt shown below featuring nine Birdorable birds that can be found at back yard feeders in the Northeast of the United States. Represented are: Tufted Titmouse; American Goldfinch; White-throated Sparrow; Rose-breasted Grosbeak;...

2013 Bonanza Bird #23: White-headed Duck

Our Bonanza rolls on! We're adding new birds each day until we reach our 500th Birdorable species! Today's Bonanza bird is the White-headed Duck. White-headed Ducks are diving ducks. This means that they dive under the water for food. They are omnivorous,...

Read About Lekking: What It Means And Which Birds Do It

A lek is a group of male animals, most commonly birds or insects, that gathers as part of a breeding strategy. The males perform displays in an arena-like setting in order to lure observing females into mating. Lekking in most bird species is like a big mating party where...