Pittsburgh Aviary Hatches Guam Kingfisher Chicks for Reintroduction

Pittsburgh's National Aviary hatched a male Guam kingfisher chick on April 19 and a female chick on May 12, Usa Today reported. The male chick took its first flight on May 27. The two chicks belong to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums' Guam kingfisher Species Survival Plan Program.

The aviary has hatched more than 20 Guam kingfishers in the past 10 years to support the Sihek Recovery Program. Chicks hatched at the aviary are sent to the Sedgwick County Zoo in Kansas to reach adulthood. Mature birds are then released at Palmyra Preserve on Palmyra Atoll, roughly 1,000 miles south of Honolulu.

Nine Guam kingfishers have been released on the atoll to date, including three hatched and hand-reared at the National Aviary. A female named Långet and males named Mames and Sindålu were released there in September 2024, the first such releases since 1988. In February 2025, Mames and Långet displayed nesting behavior while Sindålu and another female showed bonding.

Two pairs laid and incubated eggs that year, though none proved fertile. The Guam kingfisher has been extinct in the wild for about 40 years after the invasive brown tree snake arrived on Guam. Biologists rescued 29 birds in the late 1980s.

The birds are being introduced on Palmyra Atoll on a trial basis because the island has no brown tree snakes. The chicks remain in the aviary's behind-the-scenes Breeding Center. Adult admission starts at $20.95.