A bird believed to have been extinct for 140 years has been rediscovered

Black-naped Pheasant- PigeonPhoto byBy John Gerrard Keulemans - Catalogue of the Birds in the British Museum. Volume 21, Public Domain,

It's a very sad day when researchers discover a species has gone extinct. Species can go extinct due to the destruction of habitat, the introduction of invasive species, climate change, hunting, illegal trafficking, or many other reasons. A species can be considered extinct after years of research have determined no sight of any member of that species has been recorded. Every now and then, a species can become evasive enough to go undetected for years only to be rediscovered years later. Regardless of how the species survived, it's always exciting to rediscover a species once thought to be extinct.

After about a month's expedition in the forest of Papa New Guinea, researchers have rediscovered the black-naped pheasant-pigeon, a bird thought to have been extinct for 140 years. Photos and videos of this chicken-sized bird was captured on a trail cam deployed in hopes of finding this beautiful bird and others thought to be extinct.

The black-naped pheasant-pigeon is a chicken-sized ground-dwelling bird that was listed among 20 lost birds that haven't been documented in over 100 years. Being one of the four pheasant pigeons native to New Guinea, it can only be found in the coastal forest of Fergusson Island. The black-naped pheasant-pigeon hasn't been documented since 1882 and is now known to be the most endangered bird in Papa New Guinea. With this new rediscovery, protection of the bird's habitat will ensure the 555-square-mile island's forest will be protected from recent threats of logging companies looking to buy the island.

"To find something that's been gone for that long, that you're thinking is extinct, and then to figure out it's not extinct, feels like finding a unicorn or bigfoot" says John C. Mittermeier, director of the lost bird program at American bird conservancy and co-leader of the expedition.

The members of the expedition give thanks to the local hunters for their immense knowledge of the island's forest which the expedition would have been close to impossible without their guidance.