Biologist defends decision to kill rarely seen bird

WASHINGTON —The Moustached Kingfisher is a beautiful, and elusive, bird.

Until last month, it had not been not been seen in the wild for decades — and had never been photographed. That changed when a group of researchers happened upon one in the jungles of Guadalcanal, in the Solomon Islands.

The group snapped some striking pictures of the bird — and then killed it. The decision to “collect” the specimen, as it’s known in science terms, prompted a number of outraged articles in various media outlets.

The strong criticism ultimately forced the lead scientist on the project to defend his decision.

In an article published by the Audubon Society, Christopher Filardi said; “For a quarter century I have worked to sustain wild country, the nations of non-human organisms thriving there, and our own species’ interactions with these places. Our recent fieldwork was not just about finding the Moustached Kingfisher. This was not a ‘trophy hunt.’”

Filardi also stressed that the bird is “unremarkably common” to locals. He said the decision to “collect” the bird was “standard practice for field biologists,” but “neither an easy decision nor one made in the spur of the moment.”

That may not appease critics, such as wildlife expert Marc Bekoff.

“Killing ‘in the name of conservation’ or ‘in the name of education’ or ‘in the name of whatever’ simply needs to stop,” he wrote in a Huffington Post blog post. “It sickens me that this practice continues and I hope more people will work hard to put an end to it right now, before more fascinating animals are killed.”

But Filardi and his supporters say the rare sample will improve scientists’ understanding of the species, and could ultimately help secure its future.

“I have come to know, through firsthand experience, how specimens and other artifacts in museums can over time become sacred. The Moustached Kingfisher I collected is a symbol of hope and a purveyor of possibility, not a record of loss,” he said.