Goodenough Island bird

On Goodenough Island, a volcanic island 30 km off the mainland of New Guinea, there have been reports of an unknown bird living in the higher altitude tropical rainforests.

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In 1953, Australian botanist Leonard Brass led a large expedition into New Guinea’s interior, including Goodenough Island. One of the expedition members claimed to have seen an unusual bird. It had an ovular body, long thin beak, black plumage, long tail, and was the size of a small crow. He noticed it made a short explosive rattling call. Zoologist James Menzies saw a group of these birds in the forest canopy of mt. Oiamadawa, the highest peak on the island on Dec 28th, 1975. 

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Some theorize the Goodenough Island bird is a misidentified paradise crow, which does live on the island. Like the unknown bird, paradise crows are black and have similar wings, but they don’t have an ovular body, lengthy, thin beak, or a loud rattling call.