Black-naped Pheasant-Pigeon Rediscovered after 140 years

[Posted by Chuck Almdale]

From American Bird Conservancy (ABC):

A team of scientists and conservationists has rediscovered the elusive Black-naped Pheasant-Pigeon, a large, ground-dwelling pigeon that only lives on Fergusson Island, a rugged island in the D’Entrecasteaux Archipelago off of eastern Papua New Guinea. Like other pheasant-pigeons, the Black-naped Pheasant-Pigeon has a broad and laterally compressed tail, which, along with its size, makes it closely resemble a pheasant. The bird has been observed several times over the years by local hunters, but the newly taken photographs and video are the first time the bird has been documented by scientists since 1882, when it was first described. Ornithologists know very little about the species, but believe that the population on Fergusson is very small and decreasing.

Voice: A loud. far-carrying “wu-huwoooooa” rising and falling in pitch before trailing off at the end.

Video from ABC

Link to ABC text report.

Link to IUCN Red List Edge of Extinction report on Black-naped Pheasant-Pigeon Otidiphaps insularis.

Link to Re:Wild Search for lost birds report on 10 missing species.

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