The black-necked pheasant appeared in Papua New Guinea. Everyone thought exotic pigeons were extinct, but for the first time since 1882, pictures of the birds have been captured again.
Three researchers spent a month searching for birds on Ferguson Island in September. They almost gave up when they received information from the locals. They claimed to have seen exotic birds around the highest mountain on the island.
Scientists went to that mountain, Mount Kilkaran, and installed twenty camera traps. In the end, the black-necked pheasant dove can be seen on the pictures made in the woods.
“I felt like we had found a rhino,” says one of the researchers. “We’ve dreamed of this all our lives.”
“We took a good look at all the pictures that were taken and suddenly I saw the bird. For the first time in 140 years we have captured this pigeon on camera.”
The black-necked pheasant was last seen in the 19th century. After that, everyone assumed the bird was extinct.
Scientists believe that the number of pheasants on Ferguson Island is very small and hope to catch the bird. Through their research, they want to protect the remaining black-necked pheasants.