Sihek (Guam kingfisher)

How it was counted

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service accounts for each bird, female and male, so the figure is a head count of animals, not of pairs or nests. It covers the sihek introduced to Palmyra Atoll only; captive birds are not counted.

9 is a head count, every sihek known in the wild on Palmyra Atoll counted bird by bird, so it is not an estimate.

What moves it

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says the invasive brown treesnake, introduced to Guam by accident, is why the sihek is gone from the wild there.

• the invasive brown treesnake on Guam. Extinct in the wild since 1988 due to the accidental introduction of the invasive brown tree snake Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Who is helping

The Sihek Recovery Program (the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Guam Division of Aquatic and Wildlife Resources, The Nature Conservancy, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, Sedgwick County Zoo and ZSL) moved captive-bred sihek to Palmyra Atoll and released them into the wild, where all of them were later accounted for.

The next count

Counts of the sihek on Palmyra Atoll are irregular, and no date for the next count is known as of 12 November 2026.

Sources

• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Last checked 12 November 2026.

What changed

• 12 November 2026 Added to Live Species, on the wall (1,000 or fewer): 9 (Head count, September 2025).

Every change on the site