Researchers lured the critically endangered bird, which had never been positively identified at sea, by throwing frozen fish into waters 25 miles south of Fiji's Gau island

This article is more than 11 years old

This article is more than 11 years old

A group of researchers in Fiji has captured for the first time images of the endangered and elusive Fiji petrel.

Scientists photographed the chocolate-coloured sea bird soaring above the ocean about 25 miles south of Fiji's remote island of Gau in May, according to the UK conservation group BirdLife International. The researchers' findings were described in a paper published in this week's Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club.

"Finding this bird and capturing such images was a fantastic and exhilarating experience," the paper's lead author, Hadoram Shirihai, said in a statement.

The bird is listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, which compiles the world's red list of endangered species.

The first Fiji petrel specimen was collected in 1855 on Gau, and a second not until 1984. Since then, there have been a handful of reports of birds crashing into houses on Gau, but no one had ever positively identified one at sea, the researchers said.

The finding is significant because there is so little information about the bird, said Nicholas Carlile, sea bird project officer with the New South Wales state Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water in Australia.

Carlile has studied the Fiji petrel for years and began to hunt for the animal's breeding ground in 2003. Despite all his research, even he has never seen one of the elusive birds.

"There has been no positive sighting of the Fiji petrel at sea – it's very rare," Carlile said. "So it was absolutely fantastic to see those images."

The researchers threw blocks of frozen fish pieces mixed with dense fish oil into the water, creating a smelly slick that attracted the birds. The scientists spotted up to eight petrels over their 11-day expedition.

Expedition member Dick Watling of the conservation group NatureFiji-MareqetiViti said more surveys to locate the birds' breeding area are planned for next year.

"Once we know the location, we can assess what needs to be done to turn around the fortunes of this species," he said.