



Controversy has erupted after a scientist snatched a photograph of an incredibly rare bird - then promptly killed it.



All in the name of science, of course.



The male mustached kingfisher is found only in the Solomon Islands and is so rarely seen it’s described as a ‘ghost bird’.



So Chris Filardi, director of Pacific Programs at the American Museum of Natural History, immediately tracked down and killed the bird after photographing it.



His reasoning was that he would have a sample for analysis - although other experts disagree with his move.



Filardi said, ‘Although sightings and information about the bird are rare in the ornithological community, the bird itself is not.



‘As I wrote from the field, this is a bird that is poorly known and elusive to western science – not rare or in imminent danger of extinction.’

































