The Mariana Crow can only be found on Rota. The caws in the jungle are a sign of progress.

The population peaked in the 1980s at over a thousand. It's been at a stable 200 since 2015. 

Phil Hannon is the research coordinator for the San Diego Zoo's rear and release program on Rota. He says feral cats and an unknown disease targeting year-old birds are some of the main causes of the decline. 

"It is a very low number but it is certainly a positive that the population stayed stable over the years," he said. "Each year we intend to pull eggs or chicks from the wild and raise them for release the following year. So each year we collect a dozen to 15 birds and also release a dozen to fifteen birds."

And one of those birds, AOWY, an acronym for the colors of the leg bands used for tracking, is the first captive-reared crow to successfully reproduce in the wild. And this month, she raised her second chick, YOBA, which is now two months old.

The oldest crow recorded is 18 years old. Henry Fandel is the co-director of the University of Washington's Mariana Crow Recovery Project. 

"We released 50 hand-reared crows into the wild since 2018 and though many of them are breeding and attempting to create offspring, only one bird has and it is the same bird," he said. 

He said wild crows are more successful in breeding.

"This crow is one of the first ones to be released into the wild that all the groups have been released since will just need a few more years to figure it out before they are also successful," Fandel said.