Over the last two decades the native forest birds of Guam have undergone a precipitous population decline. Nine of the 11 species of native forest birds that were resident when the decline began have been extirpated. Five of the species that have become extinct in the wild are endemic at the species or subspecies level. The major cause of the decline has been attributed to predation by the introduced brown tree snake (Boiga irregularis), a nocturnal, arboreal predator. The snake population has irrupted on Guam and reached high densities, and it may be accidentally carried to other islands in the Pacific causing similar ecological disasters. Actions are now being taken to prevent the spread of the snake to other islands, to study methods to control the snake, and to save the few Guam bids remaining
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