Scientists with the American Bird Conservancy discovered a rare pheasant-pigeon that had not been documented in nearly 140 years.
Researchers placed camera traps on Fergusson Island (Papua New Guinea) and the results showed the rare black naped pheasant pigeon strutting through the images.
According to the American Bird Conservancy the pheasant pigeon, a large ground-dwelling pigeon, with a “broad, laterally compressed tail”, is only found on the island off the east coast Papua New Guinea.
The first scientifically documented photos and videos of this bird have been taken in 1882.
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The images were like “finding the unicorn” John C. Mittermeier is the Director of the Lost Birds Program at the American Bird Conservancy, and the co-leader of this expedition.
He said, “It’s the kind of moment that you can dream about for your entire life as an environmentalist and birdwatcher.”
Jordan Boersma (postdoctoral researcher at Cornell University) said that he was shocked by the photograph of the bird that was walking straight past our camera. He explained that when the cameras had been set up, he calculated that there was less that one-percent chance of getting photos of the black-naped penguin-pigeon.
Christina Biggs, Manager for Search for Lost Species Re:wildAccording to, “This rediscovery of other birds is an amazing beacon of hope for those that have been lost for half-century or more.”
Roger Safford is Senior Program Manager for Preventing Extinctions for BirdLife International. He stated, “As well as providing hope for searches for lost species, the detailed data collected by the team has provided an basis for conservation of the extremely rare bird which must indeed be very threatened together with other unique species on Fergusson Island.”
This article was first published by Business Insider.
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