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Micronesian Kingfisher

Good job. You've identified the Micronesian kingfisher (Halcyon cinnamomima cinnamomima).

The Micronesian kingfisher is native to Guam, where it thrived until the brown tree snake was accidentally introduced to the island. The snake made easy prey of many species of birds which were unaccustomed to snakes as predators, including the Micronesian kingfisher, which now appears to be extinct in Guam. The only surviving birds reside in captivity in zoos.

Many kingfisher birds actually hunt and eat fish as part of their diet. The Micronesian kingfisher, however, survives mostly on a diet of grasshoppers, lizards, insects, and small crustaceans. This bird's large, strong beak is useful for drilling nest holes in trees and rotting wood.

And that means Animal #7 is the...

Scimitar-Horned Oryx

Named for its long, curving horns, the scimitar-horned oryx stands about 1.2 meters (4 feet) tall. Its horns may add another .9 meters (3 feet) of height to its body.

Although the oryx lives mostly in desert and scrubland areas of North Africa, it likes to feed on grasses. So the oryx must migrate over some distance in order to find enough food. The domestic cattle that compete for the same grasses and the game hunters who hunt the animal for its trophy horns both threaten the oryx's survival.

No one knows how many oryx remain in the wild. Some people think there a few hundred left, while others believe none survive. About 10 captive-bred oryx were reintroduced to a national park in Tunisia in 1985.

See all seven animals with their names.

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