I hope book reviews are appropriate postings. Because I will be going to
Guam twice in the next few months, I have been trying to understand the
stories I've heard about the demise of avifauna on the island. I just
finished reading a book which is probably familiar to professional
ornithologists but may not be known to others. Published in 1994 by
Simon and Schuster, "And No Birds Sing" by Mark Jaffe, it is subtitled
"The Story of an Ecological Disaster in a Tropical Paradise." It is a
stunning read, both for those who are interested in the accounts of the
scientific investigations involved and for those who care about the
natural world.

The impact of the Brown Tree Snake on Guam is difficult to believe, from
the devastation of bird life to attacks (quite a number!) on babies in
their cribs. I was intrigued to read about the efforts to save two of the
five species which are now extinct on the island, three of which are now
extinct worldwide because they existed only on Guam. The captive breeding
of the Guam Rail and the attempt to introduce it on nearby Rota is
fascinating to follow.

Perhaps the scariest part of the book is the last few pages that talk
about the finding in 1991 of Brown Tree Snakes on Oahu, apparently coming
in on military and commercial flights from Guam.

Does anyone have any recent information about efforts to control the
snake or on the progress of the Rota project? The latest reports in the
book are from May, 1992. Also, can anyone suggest names of birders in
Guam or on Rota or Saipan with whom I might establish contact. I will
have some free time to spend exploring.

Since drafting this note, Alan Richards sent me copies of the Guam CBC
counts for '91, '92, and '93. '92 found 645 individuals of 26 species. Of
those 272 were Pacific Golden Plover and 111 were European Tree Sparrows.
Most of the rest were ocean and shore birds.

Grant Hendrickson
ghendric at esd112.wednet.edu