Ten-Day Search Finds No Trace of Fiji Petrel, Among World's Rarest Birds

The team hoped to tag a bird and finally locate its nests. "We had hoped to tag a bird to finally understand where their nests are and how to protect them," Bulimaitoga said. "After 10 days and nights of little sleep and lots of focus, we came up empty."

How did the team search?

Local and international scientists spent more than 12 hours a day scouring the skies, mostly from the sea. Their methods included:

• Chumming by day — dispersing bait and fish oil on the sea surface to lure petrels close.
• Spotlighting by night — two bright handheld spotlights aimed vertically to create a beam visible from a distance.
• Acoustic attraction — playing a call recording on a loop to draw birds in.

The team counted a sighting as confirmed only with photographic evidence. None came.

"We're in a race against time to save the Fiji petrel," said Lindsay Young, vice president of research for Pristine Seas, who led the expedition. "We searched for the bird night and day through the most tried-and-true techniques available, but the Fiji petrel eluded us. While we left Gau still chasing shadows, communities' commitment to habitat protection and invasive species control gives any remaining Fiji petrels a fighting chance."

What did islanders contribute?

The researchers interviewed Gau Island residents, whose traditional knowledge proved valuable. Those conversations uncovered the only known audio recording of the Fiji petrel's call.

The bird carries deep cultural weight. It is endemic to Fiji, appears on the country's 20-dollar banknote, and stars in lullabies passed down through generations on Gau, Fiji's fifth-largest island.

Oral histories from Gau village chiefs suggest the species was once far more abundant. Chiefs recounted stories from their great-grandmothers, who collected seabird eggs from the lower montane slopes behind the village—especially during pregnancy, when the eggs were considered desirable to eat.

What threatens the species?

The petrel's main threats are invasive predators—feral cats, rats and pigs—and habitat degradation on Gau, the only island where the bird has ever been recorded.

The failed survey underlines the bird's peril, but the scientists hedge their conclusions. A cyclone passed south of the expedition during the survey period, and a recent strong El Niño may also have pushed the birds elsewhere.

"We were disappointed not to have any confirmed sightings, but a single survey is just a snapshot," Young said. "It doesn't tell the whole story. Even so, we have to acknowledge the real risk that the Fiji petrel may be slipping away as we watch—which is precisely why new protections being pursued by communities in Gau are so critical."

The paper is authored by Lindsay C. Young and colleagues, with DOI 10.1017/s0959270926100768. One takeaway in plain words: the bird dodged the scientists this time, and its survival may now rest on the villagers protecting its forest.