Has the extinct Black-naped pheasant-pigeon come back to life?

Yes, according to a breaking story from the BBC News in Sydney Australia. A team of researchers have captured on camera the once thought to be extinct Black-naped pheasant-pigeon. 

Can an extinct pheasant-pigeon really come back to life or has it been hiding from humans for over 140 years?

Yes, according to a breaking story from the BBC News in Sydney Australia. A team of researchers have captured on camera the once thought to be extinct Black-naped pheasant-pigeon. 

But where did they find it?

A team made up of members from the American Bird Conservancy, the Cornell Lab, and the Papua New Guinea National Museum, along with local Papua New Guineans traveled to a tiny island called Fergusson Island, its off the coast of Papua, New Guinea 

They spent a month fending off bloodthirsty mosquitoes and leeches while hiking over mountain ridges, crossing roaring rivers, and trudging through the tropical forest, all with the hope of finding a bird that has not been seen since 1882. 

Jordan Boersma, co-leader of the expedition admitted that “for most of the trip, it seemed like we had no chance of finding this bird,”

But, can you believe it? After all that sacrifice and thanks to the help of a few locals sharing promising leads that they believed that they had seen a pheasant-pigeon and heard its distinctive calls on a steep mountain ridge.

The research team narrowed down the area, set up their monitoring cameras and with great surprise the Black-naped pheasant-pigeon came walking by. Yes, it is truly alive and healthy.

You can watch the 10 second video on my blog post that goes with this podcast. Just go to ConservationCelebrations.com or CStheCritterSaver.com 

As I’m sure you can imagine, this is a true conservation celebration because this Black-naped pheasant-pigeon had not been sighted since 1882. Yes it’s been off the radar now for over 140 years. Talk about great hiding skills.

One of the expeditions co-leader John Mittermeier stated it felt like "finding a unicorn”.

The Black-naped Pheasant Pigeon is a ground-dwelling bird, a little smaller than a domestic chicken with a bobbing pheasant-like tail. 

Now, very little is known about the species but scientists look forward to getting back to the island to study it some more.

Yet, even after all the excitement of finding this bird alive, its fight for survival continues. 

The principal landowner of the forest where the bird was found told the search team that he’d just signed a deal with a logging company—a move that could destroy the home and habitat of this Black-naped Pheasant Pigeon. 

How truly sad! There must be something we can do?

Like one of the team members, Jordan Boersma said, “The reason I care, why I think we should all care, is that this bird has meant something and continues to mean something to the local people.” “It’s part of their legends and culture—if we lose this species, then its cultural importance will be lost along with the role it plays in this fantastic ecosystem.”

I hope you will care also!

On my blog I’ll share some resource links about the Black-naped pheasant-pigeon and of course the YouTube link so you can see this awesome bird for yourself.

Stay tuned as I invite the research team to come on this podcast to share more about their trip any conservation efforts we can help with.

I’m CS the Critter Saver. I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s episode of Conservation Celebrations