Who flew away before we could make his acquaintance.
...
There ARE birds on Guam - though our friends say there were none, as recently as seven or ten years ago - they were eaten, of course, by the brown tree snake.
Since we've been on the island, we've seen sparrows and pigeons, wading water birds and flying water birds, and of course we have seen boonie chickens! So, for you birdwatching friends, we'll take as many bird pictures as possible.
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Unfortunately, most of the commonly seen birds on Guam are not the native birds. The brown treesnake has eaten 10 out of 12 native forest birds, most of the native lizards and are a threat to the remaining fruitbat that can still be seen in the wild. Yes, Guam has birds but they are invasive species, like the Black Drongo in your picture. Native forest birds exist in captivity until a day where there is a place protected from feral cats and the 1-2 million snakes that roam free on Guam.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the information! I remember studying Guam in college as an example of the disaster that can follow the introduction of non-native species - but I didn't know that the snakes had eaten the native lizards and bats as well.
ReplyDeleteWow! We have an orinthologist in our midst.
ReplyDeleteThe black tailed drongo is most likely my favorite
small Asian passerine bird of the drongo family Dicruridae!
Props!