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A researcher who found a species of bird not seen for 50 years has killed the rare animal, in the name of science.

Christopher Filardi has defended his decision to slaughter the moustached kingfisher last month, saying the bird was 'collected as a specimen for additional study'.

But outraged conservationist's have since taken to the museum's Facebook page to vent their anger and animal rights organisation PETA has also condemned the killing.

Filardi, director of Pacific Programs at the American Museum of Natural History, discovered the moustached kingfisher on the island of Guadalcanal, in the south-western Pacific.

The moustached kingfisher is described as one of the most elusive and mysterious birds on the planet and the photographs taken by the US team are thought to be the first in existence.

(Image: Rob Moyle/American Museum of Natural History)

Filardi tweeted about about his rare find - but then promptly killed the animal in order to study it as a specimen.

On audubon.org, Filardi explained his decision to kill the rare creature , saying that it was not an easy decision to make but one that he stood by.

He wrote: "Our recent fieldwork was not just about finding the Moustached Kingfisher. This was not a “trophy hunt.”

"Through a vision shared with my Solomon Island mentors, and focused keenly on sacred Uluna-Sutahuri lands, the Moustached Kingfisher I collected is a symbol of hope and a purveyor of possibility, not a record of loss."

He went on to say that the bird is poorly known and elusive to western science, but not rare or in imminent danger of extinction, and spoke about the benefits of the kill to scientific research.

He said the dead animal would not provide "a comprehensive set of material for molecular, morphological, toxicological, and plumage studies".

But according to Birdlife International, the birds are judged as endangered and Filardi's actions sparked fury amongst animal rights activists.

(Image: @AMNH/twitter)

PETA Senior Director Colleen O’Brien told the New York Daily News: "It is a tired and nonsensical, self-serving claim that you must kill some animals in the name of research so as to study them enough to save them.

"This argument is as daft as Walter Palmer saying he shot Cecil the lion with a high-powered crossbow to save other lions.

"To search for and find an animal of a rare species — an individual with feelings, interests, a home, and perhaps a mate—only to kill him is perverse, cruel, and the sort of act that has led to the extinction of other animals who were also viewed as 'specimens'.

"All that was needed to document this rare bird was compassion, awe, and a camera, not disregard and a death warrant."