Three ultra-rare little birds have new home: Oregon Zoo welcomes sihek kingfishers

PORTLAND, Ore.  (KTVZ) — The Oregon Zoo is home to many critically endangered species, but perhaps none as rare as its newest arrivals: a trio of sihek (SEE-heck) kingfishers. Once native to the island of Guam, these tiny, brightly colored birds have been extinct in the wild for decades. Only 110 are left in the world, all of them in human care.

“Bringing sihek kingfishers to the Vollum Aviary is such an amazing opportunity to help this species,” said Travis Koons, who oversees the zoo’s bird population. “We're very lucky here at the Oregon Zoo to be trusted with the responsibility.” 

The three birds, which arrived from Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute earlier this year, are all males. Housing them at the Oregon Zoo frees up space for sihek breeding pairs at other locations — and with so few of the birds left in the world, every egg counts. 

Sihek kingfishers are endemic to the island of Guam, but the population was wiped out in the 1980s by the non-native brown tree snake. According to Koons, efforts are underway to return the birds to the wild, though not to Guam.

“There’s a massive collaboration among many conservation organizations and zoos around the world to help save these birds,” Koons said. “The plan is to release them to an area where brown tree snakes are not a threat.” 

While the bachelor trio in the zoo’s Vollum Aviary will not be released into the wild, they’re helping the cause in another way. Prior to their arrival, zoos had only housed sihek kingfishers individually, which greatly limited where they could live. At the Oregon Zoo, all three male siheks live together, and they also share their habitat with other bird species. Koons says this is great news for recovery efforts.

“We’re trying out a new way to care for them, and it’s going really well so far,” he said. “If male siheks can live together, that opens up a lot more options for zoos that can help care for these critically endangered birds.”

Visitors to the zoo can find the sihek kingfishers in the Vollum Aviary, near the Africa area. They have bright blue wings and cinnamon-colored chests, and while they might be hard to spot at first, Koons says it’s worth the wait. 

“You can often find these birds sitting in the large tree above the entrance as you walk into the aviary,” Koons said. “It’s a unique opportunity to see them because there are so few anywhere in the world.”  

Sihek kingfishers have been extinct in the wild since 1988. The remaining 110 birds have been brought into human care at accredited U.S. zoos and the Guam Division of Aquatic and Wildlife Resources. Eventually, conservationists plan to reintroduce the species into the wild to increase the global population.

This collaborative effort involves participants from Guam DAWR; Pacific Bird Conservation; The Nature Conservancy; and many members of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, including Sedgwick County Zoo, the National Zoo, the National Aviary, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, the St. Louis Zoo, the Zoological Society of London, Brookfield Zoo and the Oregon Zoo.