Large pigeon lost to science for 140 years rediscovered in Papua New Guinea

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 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 photographs and video are the first time the long-lost 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.

The research team photographed the pheasant-pigeon with a remote camera trap at the end of a month-long search of Fergusson.

“When we collected the camera traps, I figured there was less than a one percent chance of getting a photo of the black-naped pheasant-pigeon,” said Jordan Boersma, postdoctoral researcher at Cornell Lab of Ornithology and co-leader of the expedition team. “Then as I was scrolling through the photos, I was stunned by this photo of this bird walking right past our camera.”

The expedition team--which included local Papua New Guineans working with Papua New Guinea National Museum, Cornell Lab of Ornithology and American Bird Conservancy--arrived on Fergusson in early September 2022. They spent a month traveling around the island, interviewing local community members to identify locations to set up camera traps in hopes of finding the pheasant-pigeon. The steep, mountainous terrain on Fergusson Island made searching for the bird extremely challenging.

“It wasn’t until we reached villages on the western slope of Mt. Kilkerran that we started meeting hunters who had seen and heard the pheasant-pigeon,” said Jason Gregg, conservation biologist and a co-leader of the expedition team. “We became more confident about the local name of the bird, which is ‘Auwo,’ and felt like we were getting closer to the core habitat of where the black-naped pheasant-pigeon lives.”

The expedition was the first-ever camera trapping study conducted on Fergusson Island. The team placed 12 camera traps on the slopes of Mt. Kilkerran, Fergusson’s highest mountain, and deployed an additional eight cameras in locations where local hunters had reported seeing the pheasant-pigeon in the past.

“When we finally found the black-naped pheasant-pigeon, it was during the final hours of the expedition,” said Doka Nason, the member of the team who set up the camera trap that eventually photographed the lost bird. “When I saw the photos, I was incredibly excited.”

A local hunter named Augustin Gregory in the village of Duda Ununa west of Mt. Kilkerran provided a breakthrough lead on where to find the bird. Gregory reported seeing the pheasant-pigeon on multiple occasions in an area with steep ridges and valleys and described hearing the bird’s distinctive calls, which is similar to other species of pheasant-pigeons.

Following Gregory’s advice, the team set up cameras in an area of dense forest. A camera placed on a ridge at 3,200 feet (1000 meters) near the Kwama River above Duda Ununa eventually captured the black-naped pheasant-pigeon walking on the forest floor two days before the team was scheduled to leave the island.

Several members of the team have attempted to find the black-naped pheasant pigeon before. A two-week survey in 2019 by Boersma, Gregg and Nason didn’t find any traces of the bird, though it did gather reports from local hunters of a bird that could have been the pheasant-pigeon. The results from that survey helped to determine locations for the team to search in 2022.

“The communities were very excited when they saw the survey results, because many people hadn’t seen or heard of the bird until we began our project and got the camera trap photos,” said Serena Ketaloya, a conservationist from Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea. “They are now looking forward to working with us to try to protect the pheasant-pigeon.”

The team’s findings suggest that the pheasant-pigeon is likely to be extremely rare. The rugged and inaccessible forest where they rediscovered the species could be the last stronghold for the black-naped pheasant-pigeon on Fegusson.

The expedition was supported by American Bird Conservancy and the Search for Lost Birds, a collaboration between BirdLife International, American Bird Conservancy and Re:wild. The Search for Lost Birds identified the pheasant-pigeon for an expedition after a global review revealed it was one of a few bird species that have been lost to science for more than a century.

The full expedition team consisted of Jason Gregg; Jordan Boersma; Doka Nason of Porotona village; Serena Ketaloya of Porotona village; Elimo Malesa of Basima village; Bulisa Iova from Papua New Guinea National Museum; Cosmo Le Breton, University of Oxford; and John C. Mittermeier from American Bird Conservancy. The expedition was funded by a grant from Cosmo Le Breton to American Bird Conservancy and the Search for Lost Birds.

Allbirds also supports the Search for Lost Birds, in addition to Re:wild’s broader Search for Lost Species.

John C. Mittermeier, director of the lost birds program at American Bird Conservancy and co-leader of the expedition
“After a month of searching, seeing those first photos of the pheasant-pigeon felt like finding a unicorn. It is the kind of moment you dream about your entire life as a conservationist and birdwatcher.”

Christina Biggs, manager for the Search for Lost Species at Re:wild

“This rediscovery is an incredible beacon of hope for other birds that have been lost for a half century or more. The terrain the team searched was incredibly difficult, but their determination never wavered, even though so few people could remember seeing the pheasant-pigeon in recent decades.

Roger Safford, senior program manager for preventing extinctions at BirdLife International
“As well as giving hope for searches for other lost species, the detailed information collected by the team has provided a basis for conservation of this extremely rare bird, which must indeed be highly threatened, together with the other unique species of Fergusson Island.”

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Photo: The black-naped pheasant-pigeon, a species long-lost to science since 1882, was rediscovered after camera traps setup by an expedition team with the Search for Lost Birds in Papua New Guinea captured photos of the large, ground-dwelling bird in Papua New Guinea. (Photo by Doka Nason/American Bird Conservancy)

American Bird Conservancy
American Bird Conservancy ABC is a nonprofit organization dedicated to conserving wild birds and their habitats throughout the Americas. With an emphasis on achieving results and working in partnership, we take on the greatest problems facing birds today, innovating and building on rapid advancements in science to halt extinctions, protect habitats, eliminate threats, and build capacity for bird conservation. Find us on abcbirds.org, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (@ABCbirds).

Re:wild
Re:wild protects and restores the wild. We have a singular and powerful focus: the wild as the most effective solution to the interconnected climate, biodiversity and human health crises. Founded by a group of renowned conservation scientists together with Leonardo DiCaprio, Re:wild is a force multiplier that brings together Indigenous peoples, local communities, influential leaders, nongovernmental organizations, governments, companies and the public to protect and rewild at the scale and speed we need. Learn more at rewild.org.

BirdLife International
BirdLife International is the world’s largest nature conservation Partnership: a global family of over 115 national NGOs covering all continents, landscapes and seascapes. BirdLife is driven by its belief that local people, working for nature in their own places but connected nationally and internationally through the global Partnership, are the key to sustaining all life on this planet. This unique local-to-global approach delivers high impact and long-term conservation for the benefit of nature and people.