JohnCenaFan28
02-18-2009, 10:31 PM
A quail that was feared to have become extinct has been spotted alive for the first time in decades - on its way to a cooking pot.
Worcester's buttonquail was previously known only through drawings based on dead museum specimens, reports the Daily Telegraph.
The live bird was snared by hunters in the Caraballo mountain range of the Philippines and a film crew took pictures and video footage.
Michael Lu, president of the Wild Bird Club of the Philippines, said the group was "ecstatic" about the find, but "sad that the locals do not value the biodiversity around them".
He added: "What if this was the last of its species? Much more has to be done in creating conservation awareness and local consciousness about our unique threatened bird fauna."
"This is a very important finding," said Philippines-based Arne Jensen, a Danish ornithologist who heads the bird club's records committee.
"Once you don't see a bird species in a generation, you start to wonder if it's extinct, and for this bird species we simply do not know its status at all."
-Nova
Worcester's buttonquail was previously known only through drawings based on dead museum specimens, reports the Daily Telegraph.
The live bird was snared by hunters in the Caraballo mountain range of the Philippines and a film crew took pictures and video footage.
Michael Lu, president of the Wild Bird Club of the Philippines, said the group was "ecstatic" about the find, but "sad that the locals do not value the biodiversity around them".
He added: "What if this was the last of its species? Much more has to be done in creating conservation awareness and local consciousness about our unique threatened bird fauna."
"This is a very important finding," said Philippines-based Arne Jensen, a Danish ornithologist who heads the bird club's records committee.
"Once you don't see a bird species in a generation, you start to wonder if it's extinct, and for this bird species we simply do not know its status at all."
-Nova