Finding Auwo: reacting to the first photo of this species!

The moment Doka and I (Jordan Boersma) realized we had the first ever photos of the Black-naped Pheasant-pigeon, known locally as Auwo, on our very last day of searching on Fergusson Island, Papua New Guinea.
This species had not been documented since the 1800s and had never been photographed. We spent a month searching for this critically endangered and, at the time, potentially extinct species, and never saw the bird ourselves. Seeing photos of this elusive, almost mythical, bird walking past our camera was the most surreal and fulfilling experience we could have ever imagined.
Jason Gregg, Doka Nason, Eli Malesa, John Mittermeier, Serena Ketaloya, and Bulisa Iova were core members of the expedition team. We had the support of countless Fergusson Is. locals whose immense knowledge of birds led to this triumphant moment.
The expedition was supported by American Bird Conservancy and the Search for Lost Birds, a collaboration between BirdLife International, American Bird Conservancy and Re:wild. The Search for Lost Birds identified the pheasant-pigeon for an expedition after a global review revealed it was one of a few bird species that have been lost to science for more than a century.
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[@dustin5181]

Props on the camera man for revealing it in the best way possible to one of the few people that would appreciate it just as much as himself. Gave me a goooooood feeling, big congrats.

[@nintalespaw]

He wanted someone to verify what he was seeing instead of telling them what he saw.

[@BirdBath1]

Dustin, Dustin, look at Bird bath

[@elizabethhenning778]

Not a cameraman, he's the PI

[@ssadfadsfad]

Funny, because they sold this land to a logging company shortly afterwards. Bye bye birds !

[@Smitelight]

It's absolutely the most wholesome feeling, seeing somebody so happy about all their hard work paying off.

[@Stierlitz]

It must've been so hard to be casual like "hey man, take a look at this" when you KNEW the guy was about to have a meltdown of pure joy and disbelief. The reaction is... man, just heartwarming. Congratulations to you all!

[@auwobird]

Everything was instinctive in that moment. It's all a blur, but thankfully Doka delivered the most memorable reaction I could ever have hoped for!

[@hultaelit]

I have no real personal interest in birds, but seeing the instant reaction of this man really made my day, I've watched it half a dozen times by now. Congratulations to you and your team!

[@ssadfadsfad]

Funny, because they sold this land to a logging company shortly afterwards. Bye bye birds !

[@christosdoesthings]

@@ssadfadsfad source?

[@dancan104]

As a fellow conservationist i am so damn happy for you. Thank you for sharing this pure joy with us.

[@pedroroque829]

How can I become a conservationist?

[@dancan104]

@@pedroroque829 it's super easy friend. It can be as simple as wrighting down observations of nature around you or pulling weeds from protected/threatened areas. Getting out there will also surely get people joining you. What part of the world are you in? Ill also try for a bit more specific advice.

[@TheOrangeSeven]

@@dancan104 he is probaly still trying to find out where he lives

[@ssadfadsfad]

Funny, because they sold this land to a logging company shortly afterwards. Bye bye birds !

[@dancan104]

@@ssadfadsfad well that's terrible news. For my own selfish reasons I don't want to believe you but it just rings so true.

[@auwobird]

I am overwhelmed by the response to Doka's reaction to our surreal finding! Many are requesting the trail cam photo we are responding to- the first ever photo of the Black-naped Pheasant-pigeon- which you can see here: mobile.twitter.com/Jordan_Boersma/status/1593268835980902400 See video of species here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/b6Cbm4OalNCqqMU&ab_channel=WildBirdsofNewGuinea Thanks so much for watching and stay tuned for more Doka and the dramatic search for the Auwo!

[@hultaelit]

Such unbridled, genuine joy is not something you see too often, and such a beautiful bird on top of it all too. I'll keep coming back to this when I need a cheer-me-up for a long time!

[@BirdBath1]

, look at Bird bath.

[@bastianjunemann5658]

Thank you so much for sharing! I am looking foreward for further videos! :)

[@OttoByOgraffey]

Fantastic! I love the reaction from both or you! The joy he shows on camera, is infectious!

[@timp1390]

Thanks so much for all your hard work and interest in nature ❤️

[@williamspencer8060]

I love how his knees give out, the genuine happiness he is experiencing is something everyone should feel at least once in their life time.

[@BrockYoung]

This is one of my new favorite videos on all of the internet. It is so unbelievably genuine.

[@CarlinTran]

That was so cool to see some genuine reactions. Congrats to the entire team who made this moment possible! What a cool looking bird.

[@ssadfadsfad]

Funny, because they sold this land to a logging company shortly afterwards. Bye bye birds !

[@Infernoraptor]

That reaction literally gave me goosebumps. That excitement is so contagious! Congrats!

[@neotim5]

Not gonna lie that almost made me cry, awesome to see that much joy in a dude

[@santiagoqr1]

A while ago when this video originally came out, I told my wife this was my dream for her, she is into conservation and loves trail and trap cameras, I told her that I wanted to see one day a video like this, where she sees something in a trap cam that gets her this excited She thought it was the best thing she had ever heard, and she was full of love for me because no one had ever wished her something like that, it sounded like I really nailed it and it was what she had wanted all her life. Sadly she passed away a week ago and was never able to find something like this. She set camera traps in Peru, Colombia, Thailand, Belize, Borneo, Namibia and South Africa, she did more than most people will ever get to, but she died too young and will never be able to fulfill her dream of finding a species considered extinct or saving a species from extinction. I will always remember the moment we watched this video together. It was the one of her happiest moments, and for sure the most proud of herself moment ever. Thank you

[@icresp4263]

Man the happiness is so contagious everyone I've shown this to has smiled. You guys are awesome

[@tripp9278]

Dude we need to see the picture! That guy might be the happiest person I've ever seen.

[@ded_lej]

if you need to see the bird you are able to do so

[@austinbruce2422]

@@ded_lej how

[@patholinofa4601]

@@austinbruce2422 search up the Black-naped Pheasant-pigeon, there'll be a bunch of new images as news sites have uploaded the images, which I presume were distributed by this very channel.

[@austinbruce2422]

@@patholinofa4601 thank you!

[@Marklennon]

I love when you see people excited for thing they’re passionate about

[@BirdBath1]

Mark Lennon, look at Bird bath

[@parsegov1]

Congrats! That's got to be such an amazing feeling! So much fun to see the joy on his face!

[@naan000]

Their happiness is so infectious too, I'm crying happy tears for them

[@Nostalgiohn1994]

Thank you for sharing this bit if the human experience. Seeing pure emotion like this over something that yall dedicated so much time to is inspiring

[@WildlifeWithCookie]

This is the loveliest interaction. That's what it's all about

[@sybillemaa9389]

It's so beautiful to see the joy in his face. Thank you and congratulations for rediscovering this rare bird.

[@RobertWedderburn]

You guys are so awesome! This video made me smile so much that it put a couple tears of joy in my eyes! Super well done!!

[@elvisinairish]

This made my day. His reaction is priceless, amazing work guys. Thank you for sharing this video

[@PiqueAction]

That reaction is infectious. Congrats!

[@ROSSM92]

That happiness is so contagious. Congratulations guys!!!!

[@PaganOnTheShortBus]

Rarely do you get to see pure joy like this. That was awesome!

[@MrChronicpayne]

I have no idea whats going on and im still pumped

[@ianoliver2224]

I’d be excited too if I found a bird not seen for over a hundred years! Especially a bird! I’m a huge wildlife and avian enthusiast!

[@MissMCwuffles]

With all the negativity on the internet sometimes, this was something wonderful to see.

[@cannedshoes]

You guys seem to have an extremely sweet dynamic!! I'd love to see more of your adventures -- you just gained a subscriber.

[@LatinaCreamQueen]

The excitement of this moment is genuinely beautiful. I have the biggest smile on my face from his reaction alone. So cute :)

[@ollieminecraft]

I'm glad you guys found this bird. Congratulations. I hope we can find more birds that are presumed to be extinct.

[@martinross3968]

I keep watching this and I am almost In tears at the reaction of the guide and local man on the ground ,who made this happen.A man after my own heart in the knowledge and respect of his lands.Keep on the the good work brother.

[@JeffTheReal1]

The excitement that that man goes through makes me smile

[@richardk6196]

You should seriously create a KZbin short of Doka's reaction. Have seen it several times and it never fails to make me smile. That is pure joy. A good cure for the holiday blues.

[@DidntKnowWhatToPut1]

I'm so happy for you all. Congratulations on what must be the highlight of your careers.

[@00bikeboy]

That's friggin' great!! So much news about species under pressure and endangered around the planet, so nice to get some good news for a change 🥰

[@catfission]

Someone gonna explain to me why I cried

[@commandrogyne]

This is so delightful, i cannot imagine how exciting it must have been to capture the pictures, let alone the reaction! Videos like this make me grin like a fool, the giddiness is contagious!!

[@andrewcassman8606]

Watching their genuine reaction made my day. Congratulations to these gentlemen!

[@deedeldeedle]

Best reaction ever!

[@alfredofreesalt]

Absolutely awesome! Great work, everyone!!!

[@Luvinthepups]

Incredible news! I'm happy for you guys!!!

[@TsukiCove]

This is such a beautiful video, the emotion and passion is priceless. This video has made my day :)

[@grelgen]

why not put the photo in the vid?

[@iansmith3301]

because birds are fake

[@JC20XX]

That would make too much sense.

[@vanilla-plus]

"I can't believe my eyes! When people see this... unbelievable. I've never seen anything like it! It's beyond description."

[@ded_lej]

if you were really interested in seeing the bird you would just google and look at it

[@landonfolken03]

Well he made a comment about someone looking through the photos as well so maybe they wanted to make this announcement but didnt want the photo up yet. That or, more likely, they were just really excited and threw this up real quick to make it known.

[@sugoi694]

He's so happy, I'm glad that he was able to achieve this goal❤

[@keganrimmer6767]

Wow the happiness is palpable! 🎉 congrats!

[@asoncalledvoonch2210]

Congratulations to you and your team 🎊 The work you folks do is extremely important and very much underrepresented. But it's appreciated greatly by people like me who want to find lost species and conserve them for future generations to see ! Again, CONGRATULATIONS 🎊

[@sophiahuang1650]

Papua New Guinea collaborators Doka Nason, Eli Malesa, Serena Ketaloya, and Bulisa Iova

[@thelatman9397]

Just when you think Humans are the worst, you look at this brilliant reaction to rediscovering a 'lost' animal. Well done guys, well done. What happens next, are there routes to protecting this species?

[@ashutoshjha9147]

I am sitting here doing my night shift and this guy got me hyped up too for no apparent reason.

[@ruralrookies]

This has got to be the best video I've watched this year. Congratulations to your team 👏

[@BirdBath1]

Jacinta Mondia, look at Bird bath

[@yipengzhang5488]

This dude is so happy. I feel the joy through the screen

[@lilmonsta6701]

This emotion jumped through the screen !!!! Love love

[@T3hArchAngelG]

This joy is infectious 😀

[@Kiu_8]

The amount of emotions - some of then universal according to Paul Ekman (some people dispute his stuff BTW, keep that in mind just in case) - shown just through body language was wonderful to see! First, we can witness a mix of confusion, interest and uncertainty (a near-blank expression save for the slightly opened eyes and mouth, looking at the other person searching for confirmation about what's happening or if a similar expression was made) in Doka's face, then, he goes from that to restrained happiness (his smile isn't as big as it could be because he's still confirming whether he's actually seeing what he hoped to see), after that, he gets the screen closer and leans forward to see it to better absorb what he's looking at, shortly after, there's sheer astonishment albeit a bit restrained (the mouth wants to open wide but he keeps his lips tight to avoid that, however, he can't help but do that with his eyes, his eyebrows rise a lot too), then he experiences sheer joy (he makes a Duchenne smile while the expression of surprise remains) and then to a full feeling of happiness, success and confidence (he no longer constricts or restraints anything, he rises up, widens up and raises his arms [a common gesture when people celebrate, even lifelong blind people raise their hands to celebrate despite never witnessing such an action], he then holds on to the cameraman's hands showing his appreciation for him and what he showed him, and, to no one's surprise, the cameraman is equally happy. What a wonderful moment and how great it is to have a video of the aforementioned; congratulations and may many more people see this video, it's delightful and very genuine!

[@zkhcohen]

Not to rain on your parade, but Paul Ekman is selling snake oil. Microexpressions and his "science" of universal expression is largely disproven at this point.

[@cm9241]

Thanks for recapping the video we all watched, dweeb.

[@prismarinium]

The shared human experience is amazing and I think Ekman’s work can definitely express that, though it shouldn’t go unsaid that his stuff isn’t just ‘somewhat disputed’. Again, I think how ur using it is largely positive, but the study of micro expressions and evolutionary psychology is fairly conclusive - which is to stay it was a lot of bs funded by the US gov in the 80s-90s to justify profiling and split second decisions made by law enforcement without explicitly stating that. Psychological consensus today is that microexpressions r more a product of ur cultural experience than engrained reactions. They r still certainly relevant, we are all increasingly connected, but they aren’t in themselves more substantial than how anybody forms impressions about the world.

[@artemisarrow9545]

Congratulations to you all. What an amazing moment. 💜💜💜

[@martinross3968]

Great bit of footage.Contratulaions to Jason,Jordan and 'all those' Involved in finding such a rare bird.A very happy day indeed! So good to know it is still there,and not another extinct species.Watched the footage on twitter and it's a beautiful bird as well.

[@birdieindian]

Truly emotional moment. Even though we are not part of this in real but thanks to this video which allowed us to feel this and be a part of Doka's reaction. It did not felt like i am watching a video, i felt like i am there with you guys and enjoying his expressions. Superb☺👍👍

[@HeavyEquipmentDealer]

I love how happy they are! So excited for them!

[@_Chiklet_]

I'm crying happy tears cause Doka is so full of glee.

[@thatpspguy]

Congratulations!! Looking forward to seeing the picture some day!!

[@Dante_Fr]

Your really changing the world for the better. Congrats mate, your an absolute legend. It brings joy to us Papua New Guineans to know that we still have incredible animas like this though to be extinct, protected in our country

[@zimonyt]

“holy shit we did it” and goes for a high five, so beautiful

[@ProfMannion]

"WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" *That Auwo a few miles away* "WTF?"

[@BirdBath1]

Brad Foster, look at Bird bath

[@troysmith5054]

The hand shaking when you pass off the camera god this is so cool

[@johnfgrice]

There is so much joy in this. Thank you for sharing 😊

[@calilife805]

Dude took them off the extinct list ? Let’s hope these little guys can make a comeback 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🤝

[@tom11zz884]

Gives me hope that a Great Auk and DODO bird are still out there somewhere.

[@nambnuts]

This is my go to uplifting video now! The joy is so infectious

[@BirdBath1]

Varun Nambiar, look at Bird bath

[@HeavayMetal]

Big yessss!!!! Congratulations!!!! Love the positivity.. the reaction, maaaan it moveddd me!!!! 🥲👍🏻💪🏻

[@kem1691]

His reaction is amazing - I can't stop smiling!

[@jedijosh707]

Sericously sick! What a moment that was. Congratulations and thank you.

[@JerseyRepresenting]

Woooooooooo! I understand the birdgasm, what a find!

[@frankroy9423]

Thsnks for showing the bird on your other video. Looks awsome hope they make a very good comeback

[@natei.3859]

The vibes here are off the charts!

[@RaddIcenoggle]

This made me so happy...the reaction is priceless

[@tamberjune]

These always make me so excited!

[@OttoByOgraffey]

I quickly subscribed! Can't wait to see more! Thank you so much!

[@Capybaraism]

Pure joy. I absolutely loved this!

[@annadachowska24]

I was smiling entire time. This man reaction 🥹🥹🥹

[@nicholaspaiki9139]

Shoutout to both of you ,good job ...🎉❤❤

[@chaselewis3354]

They actually got footage of the Black Napped Pheasant Pigeon. Thought to be extinct for 140 years! This is in Papua New Guinea! Really cool to see their joy guys!

[@gettus5492]

So awesome !!! That joy is beautoful 😊

[@dkoppenol]

Amazing video of one epic, epic find. Big congratulations and compliments for the tiring hard work!

[@AlexP-_-]

I nearly cried😅 So happy for you and for these sppecies Congrats!

[@llamaface6229]

I cant get enough of this. Only environmentalists will truly appreciate the significance of this.

[@djsnoopmike]

I like how they're trying to keep their excitement as quiet as possible to not broadcast their position to potential predators

[@vivienh.7148]

Congratulations! Youre doing an absolutely amazing job! ❤️

[@spacelemur7955]

Doka is a true naturalist, down ti every last fiber of his being!🌹

[@CalicoJoeJoe]

Epic as hell. What a great moment

[@5gld]

The bird is actually called an auwo by the locals of the region, it’s actual name is the black naped pheasant pigeon, and it has been though to be extinct because it was last seen in the 1800s. The original video can be found on the channel auwo and will give a much better explanation in the description than I can.

[@bloodredrobot2613]

Thank you, Forrest Galante/Wild Times Podcast

[@Latenivenatrix_Mcmasterae]

I had the exact same reaction as that dude when I heard/saw it was alive, I don’t have a connection to the bird as much as others like my beloved Blue Jay but I still very much love and appreciate all birds

[@sethmarcell1131]

OK, scientists being excited is my favorite!

[@VeeAmericanEagle]

Came here from Daily Dose on YT ❤

[@ernanog8989]

Excellent job and congratulations.

[@davidkirby8236]

Great video, and warmest congratulations to you guys !

[@BirdBath1]

David Kirby, look at Bird bath

[@josephogoley]

"Man this is the happiest moment ever" :)

[@dylanmiller2593]

There is nothing else like pure, passionate joy...

[@n0questi0n]

Awesome find. Now leave them alone.

[@asktheanimals]

Tears of joy. Now more protection needed for critical habitat. What a beautiful bird, I looked it up.

[@BirdBath1]

Ask the Animals, look at Bird bath