The Sihek (Guam Kingfisher) Finds Hope at Palmyra Atoll

In a monumental new chapter for this magnificent bird, nine endangered Guam kingfishers are now living in the wild at TNC’s Palmyra Atoll Preserve. Known as sihek by the indigenous CHamoru* people, these colorful birds are native to Guam, where they have deep cultural and spiritual significance. But in the 1940s the arrival of an invasive species—the brown tree snake—led to the sihek becoming extinct in the wild, with the last wild sighting in 1988.

The loss of wild sihek in Guam is a tragedy. While the road to reintroducing them to their native forests is long, conservationists around the globe are working together to achieve this goal. Since the 1980s, the island bird has survived in conservation zoos and other wildlife facilities. Today, around 130 adult sihek are cared for at 25 zoos and institutions and a Guam Department of Agriculture facility. Now, after spending nearly a month in aviaries at TNC’s Preserve and Research Station at Palmyra Atoll, nine birds have returned to the wild. 

*The CHamoru name is spelled with a capitalized H. Guam is spelled Guåhan in CHamoru. 

The birds traveled from Wichita, Kansas to Palmyra Atoll on August 28, 2024. Upon arrival, they started eating right away, instinctually preened when they experienced their first rainfall and began hunting spiders, geckos and crabs. Once deemed healthy, each bird was fitted with a tiny radio tracker so the project team can monitor their movements as they leave the aviaries and settle in across the atoll. 

Palmyra Atoll: A Global Haven 

Sihek chicks are being introduced to Palmyra Atoll because it is one of the most healthy land and ocean ecosystems on the planet, thanks to decades of protection and restoration work by TNC and partners. Located 1,000 miles south of Hawai‘i, the atoll is the only fully protected habitat for birds in the equatorial Pacific and comprises a spectacular marine wilderness. TNC purchased Palmyra Atoll in 2000 to preserve it and turned over the majority of the property to the US Fish and Wildlife Service. As part of our Island Resilience Strategy, TNC maintains a globally significant preserve and research station at Palmyra.

Our work to remove invasive species like rats and restore native tropical forest has created a rare and wonderful opportunity at Palmyra: the atoll is free from invasive predators, incredibly wild and carefully monitored. It offers high-quality forest habitat suitable for sihek that is similar to their native forests. And extensive research shows that introducing the sihek will have minimal effects on native wildlife at Palmyra. All this makes Palmyra one of the only places in the world where conditions are suitable for the sihek to re-enter the wild.

Adapting to a New Home

Once they arrived at Palmyra, the four female and five male sihek adjusted to their new forest home in aviaries built at TNC’s research station. TNC scientists carefully monitored the birds until they were ready to be released. The birds needed to acclimate to their new environment and learn to forage for local prey, including insects and geckos that they have not previously encountered. Now in the wild, the birds are being tracked, observed and monitored. 

TNC scientists will be stationed on the remote atoll for the next five years to care for and monitor the birds, while also collecting rare insights on how the species behaves in the wild. Each year, new birds will be released until 10 breeding pairs have successfully established in the wild. This number will give the population a strong foundation with room to grow. 

Hopefully, this rewilding of sihek at Palmyra will be another successful step on the bird’s journey back to Guam.