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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Hidde Bruinsma" data-source="post: 1215731" data-attributes="member: 31227">As Daniel mentioned the Goodenough bird has entered the dubious realm of cryptozoology. Gilliard wrote in his monograph on Birds of Paradise and Bowerbirds that A.S.Meek climbed the islands mountain forest to "great height looking for a particular species of bird of paradise". This was not the long-tailed bird L.J.Brass reported for the first time. Meek was looking for Paradisaea decora and, of course, he did not find it nor the black bird. When I was in Australia I learned that someone, who shall remain nameless, planned to visit Goodenough in 1985 to check this bird out. He had everything organised, permits from the government included, but the whole thing fell through in the end for reasons I can not remember.There is a recent article on the birds of Goodenough published by Lecroy and Peckover in the Muruk 8 (2), P.41-44. Might be something there.Personally I doubt it very much that if this bird will be found it will prove to be an Astrapia or Epimachus. I consider the drongo theory much more likely. The Ribbon-tailed Drongo lives close by on New Ireland although I don't know if that's a mountain bird.</blockquote>