Researchers in Papua New Guinea film bird last documented in 1882 | USA TODAY

Researchers in Papua New Guinea captured the first photos of a black-naped pheasant-pigeon, a bird that hasn't been documented in 140 years.

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With black and orange feathers and red eyes, the critically endangered black-naped pheasant-pigeon remained a mystery for over a century, as it was first – and last – observed by researchers in 1882. But 140 years later, the bird has spotted for the second time ever. The bird only exists in the rugged, just over 500 square mile Fergusson Island, just off the coast of southeast Papua New Guinea.

There, a team of researchers with the Papua New Guinea National Museum, Cornell Lab of Ornithology and American Bird Conservancy arrived in September, hoping to spot the black-naped pheasant-pigeon. The team spoke with locals to help them set up camera traps to capture the bird, noting some areas where they thought they had seen it, according to re:Wild, which help fund the effort.

For nearly a month, the team went without evidence of the bird. But just two days before researchers were scheduled to leave the island, Jordan Boersma, postdoctoral researcher at Cornell Lab of Ornithology and co-leader of the expedition team, was going through camera footage when he was "stunned" to see the bird walking right past the camera.

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