The jungles of this tropical island pulse with life. Lush vegetation blocks the sky. The underbrush rustles with unseen creatures.
Insects struggle and perish in a tiny world beneath human ken.
And the air is filled with the songs of . . . There are no birds. Since it was brought to previously snake-less Guam from the Admiralty Islands after World War II in the pipes of a dismantled Navy base, the brown tree snake population has exploded. And birds, their favorite food, have largely vanished. The stealthy snake climbs to the tops of trees and stretches from branch to bough to find bird nests with delectable chicks and eggs.