Extremely Rare Bird Photographed for First Time - Then Eaten
A species of bird so rare it was thought perhaps to be extinct was captured on video and still images in the Phillipines province of Nueva Vizcaya… right before it was cooked and eaten.
The Worcester’s buttonquail (Turnix worcesteri) lives only in the Phillipines, but had not been seen in many years, and was previously only known through illustration based on dead specimens collected centuries ago. One wild live buttonquail was inadvertently filmed in a mountainous area during the making of a documentary on the traditional methods of bird-trapping in northern Luzon. But neither the local crew nor the bird-trappers at the time of the filming understood how rare the bird was, so it was sold at a poultry market, then cooked and eaten.
- » See also: Mistaken Identity: Hunters Kill Endangered Pygmy Hippo During Pig Hunt!
- » Get EcoWorldly by RSS or sign up by email.
The bird had already been consumed by the time its image was noticed in a viewing of the bird-trapping documentary by a member of the World Bird Club of the Phillipines. The WBCP reported the posthumous discovery of the extremely scarce bird. Mike Lu, the club’s president said: “We are ecstatic that this rarely seen species was photographed by accident. It may be the only photo of this poorly known bird. But I also feel sad that the locals do not value the biodiversity around them and that this bird was sold for only P10 and headed for the cooking pot”. P10 is about twenty American cents.
Desmond Allen was the WBCP member who was watching the appropriately named documentary “Bye-Bye Birdie” when he spotted the buttonquail in a still image among the credits. Mr. Allen is a life-long birder, with 50 years of experience. He maintains an extensive collection of bird calls on his ipod. The trapping documentary is viewable on YouTube via the producer’s blog.
The extremely rare quail is listed on the IUCN Red List of threatened species as ‘data deficient’, which means there is not enough data available to determine an animal’s conservation status.
Image Credit: Arnel Telesforo
LOL! Probably the person who took this image wants to earn big bucks in the future when he auctions it off…
As any hunter knows, if you were able to find one and catch or kill it, it is likely there are more. It is possible that that was the last but not likely.
I can tell you that the people in the Philippines are desperate for any food dues to the economy.
I know it’s easy to condemn the people over 20 cents, but really they have nothing at all.
Slowly everything moving is being killed and eaten in the forests and soon there will be nothing left.
The only way to help these people is to educate them,
help them find sustainable food and life.
But then again, no one gives a hoot about them,
so it’s easier to say “the savages at the poor bird” than address the root cause of the problem.
The bird didn’t look all that old… It must have had a parent that was alive recently. Hopefully the species isn’t extinct. I feel for the unfortunate in the Philippines, but I also feel for the breed.
It’s definitely a shame that the population can’t be controlled because governments give incentives for producing more offspring than the family or even the community can support. Overpopulation by any species causes the demise of other species lower in the food chain, this is natural and factual, and saddening.
TO ASSEMBLER
when u said the statement “I can tell you that the people in the Philippines are desperate for any food dues to the economy.” how are u sure of that.
pls get your facts right before saying stuff. I am a filipino and were not like scavengers “desperate” to eat anything that moves. We are educated people so sdfu and know the facts first ok buddy?
@ASSEMbler
I don’t think it’s good that you generalize us Filipinos by what you think you know about us. Not everyone is desperate for food and just because people from the northern provinces trap birds or hunt animals doesn’t mean that they don’t have the means to find anything else suitable to eat.
People who live close to forests eat what they capture because that’s what they practiced for as long as they can remember. Also, not everyone keeps an eye out for endangered species, not because we are uneducated, but because - let’s face it - there aren’t that many people who are interested in knowing what the latest endangered species are.
It’s not like we’re the only ones who hunt animals for food now, are we?
Beyond everything else, including the psycho-hilarity of it all…What a beautiful bird!! I have birds that sit behind me when I’m online and sing to me. It’s a joy to look at them and listen to their tiny voices. Can you imagine the little birds beautiful singing? This really makes me sad - for many reasons.
Hey ASSEMbler, don’t generalize people in the Philippines “dues” to the economy.
I don’t think they sold the bird for 20 cents because of money, i think it was sold just because it was just a bird.
By looking at the picture only, would you even have a hint that the bird is endangered. Experts even have little data about the bird.
What a bunch of dummies.