4 min read Rare Bird Looks Downright Stunning In His First-Ever Photos

It's taken decades of searching, but scientists have finally done it - they've captured the very first photos of one of the most elusive and mysterious birds on the planet. And boy, was it worth the wait.

These are the 1st-ever photos of a male moustached kingfisher! More on this "ghost" species: http://t.co/1bLrW7HpZZ http://t.co/P879oQ4WaA — AMNH (@AMNH)

Just days ago, biologist Chris Filardi, of the American Museum of Natural History's Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, completed a goal nearly 20 years in the making: to find and photograph a moustached kingfisher. All that was known about these elusive birds, native to the forests of Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands, came from just three female specimens collected half-a-century prior. Male moustached kingfishers, meanwhile, had never once been observed by scientists before - but that all changed last week. Now we know just how stunning they really are. In a blog post, beautifully written on location in Guadalcanal, Filardi describes the eureka moment: When I came upon the netted bird in the cool shadowy light of the forest I gasped aloud, 'Oh my god, the kingfisher.' One of the most poorly known birds in the world was there, in front of me, like a creature of myth come to life. We now have the first photos ever taken of the bird, as well as the first definitive recordings of its unmistakable call.