Tooth-billed pigeon sighted for first time in 10 years

January 2014: One of the world’s least-known and rarest birds, the Tooth-billed Pigeon has been sighted on the Samoan island of Savai’i by researchers.The young Tooth-billed Pigeon Didunculus strigirostris, was photographed by a team from the Samoan Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE), and is the first confirmed sighting in almost a decade.The odd-looking tooth-billed pigeon or manumea, as it is locally known, is endemic to Samoa and is the country’s national bird. BirdLife lists it as Endangered due to its small, fragmented range and population. It has declined rapidly over the last 20 years as a result of hunting and habitat loss.

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