The species, also known as the sihek, was wiped out from its native Guam and kept alive in captivity. Conservationists released some birds on Palmyra Atoll in 2024, and they have been thriving so far A sihek, or Guam kingfisher, chick born at the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute Roshan Patel, Smithsonian Extinct from their native habitat in the wild, the Guam kingfisher, or sihek, is an extremely rare bird. But this spring, its numbers got an important boost. Four new sihek chicks have hatched at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Virginia, with the first two hatchlings emerging from their eggs on April 12 and April 14 and the second two on May 27 and May 28. Their parents are 2-year-old Poki and 5-year-old Antonio, and neither bird had bred before. The hatchlings mean the facility has met its record of four sihek chicks in a season, previously set in 2020 and 1985. Now, 33 sihek chicks have hatched at the Conservation Biology Institute over the years.…