An extremely rare bird was photographed by a TV crew in the Philippines in January, just before it was sold at a poultry market.
The buttonquail is a reclusive bird, and no one knows how many may remain hidden. Link -via Digg
(image credit: Arnel B. Telesforo)
Found only on the island of Luzon, Worcester's buttonquail was known solely through drawings based on dated museum specimens collected several decades ago.
Scientists had suspected the species—listed as "data deficient" on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's 2008 Red List—was extinct.
The buttonquail is a reclusive bird, and no one knows how many may remain hidden. Link -via Digg
(image credit: Arnel B. Telesforo)
Actually, I'm super bummed about that discovery. I'm off to Africa in 2 weeks. If I find something new and crawly, I PROMISE I won't eat it.
Marissa - perhaps not knowing the status of the bird in the wild, the person buying it only wanted to feed his family. Not everyone has access to information to determine if the food they are about to eat is endangered, or they do not have a choice ("let's see--I can buy this and eat it, or I can starve...")
I doubt that was the only bird in the poultry market.
Wasn't one of the first Coelacanths sent to a taxidermist?
(there probably weren't taxidermists when the VERY first one was around)
"Here we have a very odd looking bird on TV, and now we will sell it to a poultry market."