以下为一起旅鸽（Ectopistes migratorius，鸽形目鸟类，植食性。主流观点称这种生物是于1914年9月1日灭绝的）的目击报告，目击者为14岁（目击时14岁）的艾玛。她说自己是于2014年7月中旬的时候看到了这种神秘生物的（但是我们不能确定这种生物到底是不是旅鸽）。

以下为艾玛的报道，此处为背景信息：

“As we do most summers, my family and I drove to my grandparents’ house for a barbecue. Their house is large and old, surrounded expansive woodland and next to a small pond. They have a large garden and bird feeder along with a big yard including an overgrown field so they get a lot of wildlife scurrying about on the property like mice, turtles, raccoons, deer, countless species of birds, and just about any typical woodland critter you can think of.
As the whole family was settling in to eat, I sat in the gazebo nearby. It was a typical bright summer day and I nearly went inside until a bright red flash caught my eye. Overhead, an incredibly shiny object quickly flew past me and over the pond and out of sight. It flew back the same way it came and presumably into the woods on the other side of the house. It went back and forth, always flying in a straight line from point A to point B. The third or fourth time it flew by, I got my dad and pointed it to him as it flew by again. My father has extensive knowledge of the local wildlife and beyond, but was unable to identify it. I then got my grandmother, another long time local to try and name the creature without success.
Everyone went on with the feast, leaving me to observe the animal. When the sun was about halfway down the sky, it didn’t return from it’s back and forth flight. Once we got home (well after seven or eight o’clock) I dug through my birding encyclopedias and the Internet but found nothing that could be a definite match. I’m confident it was a bird due to its behavior and appearance.”
“和大多数夏天都是一样的，那时我和家人开车去爷爷奶奶家吃烧烤去了。他们的房子又大又旧，四周是广阔的林地，旁边是一个小池塘。他们家有一个大花园和一个喂鸟器，并且还有一个大院子，院子里也有一片杂草丛生的田野，所以在他们那里有很多野生动物，它们总是会在四处跑来跑去，比如老鼠、乌龟、浣熊、鹿、无数种鸟类，以及你能想到的任何典型的森林动物。
当全家人安顿下来准备吃饭的时侯，我就坐在附近的凉亭里。那一天是一个典型的晴朗夏日，我几乎都要走进去了，但是一道明亮的红色闪光却引起了我的注意。在我的头顶上，一个令人难以置信的、闪闪发光的物体迅速从我身边飞过，那个生物越过了池塘，然后消失在了我的视野之中。它飞回了原来的方向，大概是飞到了房子另一边的树林里。这生物总是从A点到B点绕着直线来回移动。当它第三次或第四次飞过来的时候，我就去找到我的爸爸了，当它再次飞过来的时候，我就指着那东西问他那是什么。我父亲对当地的野生动物是非常了解的，但即使是我那博学的爸爸也无法识别它。然后，我就让我的祖母——另一位长期居住在当地的居民——试着给这只动物命名，但是并没有成功。
大家都继续去吃烧烤了，所以只留下我一个人去观察那只神奇的生物。但就在正午的时候，那东西就飞走了，而且再也没有回来。我一回到家（在七、八点钟之后）就查阅了我的鸟类百科全书并上网搜索，但遗憾的是没有一种鸟类能与之匹配。但是从它的行为和外表来看，我相信它就是一只鸟。”

此处为这种神秘动物的外貌描述：

“The bird seemed as if about the size of a large dove or pigeon, although this is an estimate considering it flew anywhere from 10 to 20 feet above the ground. It had a rounded, plump belly that I can only describe as an obese pigeon. The feature that stumped me was the coloration of the belly: an unnaturally bright metallic scarlet. The only way I can describe the sheen and color is like a polished Christmas ornament on a sunny day. It was completely smooth and flawless, with no indication of being plastered on. The bright summer sun reflected off it whenever it went by when directly overhead, the glare practically blinding to look at.
The wings, head, and tail seemed disproportionately small compared to the belly, although it could be attributed to my poor memory or the glare messing up my vision. The shape of the head, wing, and tail appeared typical of an American robin**. The coloration seemed to be an ashy grey or charcoal, but once again this is debatable as it could’ve been how they were silhouetted against the sky. The detail that convinced me it was some form of avian was its flight, however. The way it flew was identical to how most finches, songbirds, and woodpeckers do (a few quick flaps of the wings, a short pause where it lowers slightly, then a few more wing-beats to return to its original height). I do not know of any machine that can imitate such a flight so fluidly and naturally.
This had to be my first (and so far only) encounter with the unknown, so I made as many notes to myself as possible to keep data close to the original sighting. I hope you enjoyed this curious case as much as I do! Many thanks in advance for your time and patience and may you have a wonderful day!”
“考虑到它在飞行时的高度离地面有10到20英尺那么高（尽管这只是一个估计）的这个特征，使得这只鸟看起来真的很像一只大鸽子，它的肚子又圆又胖，我只能把它描述成一只肥胖的鸽子。让我最感到困惑的是这种生物腹部的颜色：那颜色是一种不自然的明亮金属红色。那就像在阳光明媚的日子里的一件精美的圣诞装饰品一样（这是我唯一能描述它的光泽和颜色的方法）。它完全是光滑无瑕的，全身没有任何被涂抹的迹象。每当阳光直接从这东西的头顶经过时，明亮的夏日阳光被就会反射出来，耀眼的光线几乎会让人头晕目眩。
与其腹部相比，该生物的翅膀、头部和尾巴都显得格外小巧，尽管这可能是因为我记忆力差或者眩光干扰了我的视力。但是其头部、翅膀和尾巴的形状就是典型的美洲知更鸟的样子。它的飞行方式与大多数雀鸟、鸣禽和啄木鸟的飞行方式都是基本相同的（翅膀快速拍打几下，接着稍作停顿，然后再拍几下翅膀，回到原来的地方）。我不知道有哪台机器能够如此流畅自然地模仿这样的飞行方式。
这肯定是我人生第一次（也是目前为止唯一一次）遇到了一个神秘动物，所以我会尽可能多地给自己做笔记，以保持数据接近原始目击事件。我希望你和我一样会喜欢这个奇怪的案例！非常感谢您花出时间和耐心去阅读这篇报道，愿您度过美好的一天！‎”

在多次仔细阅读了艾玛的报告之后，我的脑海中浮现出了三个这种生物真实身份的候选人：

1. 具有颜色突变的正常鸽子（或其他普通鸟类）。

2. 天堂鸟（Paradisaeidae）或者说北美的天堂鸟亚种。这些鸟属于天堂鸟科，它们主要分布于印度尼西亚、巴布亚新几内亚和澳大利亚地区。这个物种的雄性的体色为明亮的彩虹色，这有助于它们吸引配偶。这些彩色的羽毛可以覆盖在这种鸟的整个身体上面，或聚集在鸟的身体上的某个区域内（例如：其翅膀下、胸部、颈部或尾部的羽毛）。从报道中可以看出这种生物的腹部为红色，这种描述就会让人想起天堂鸟。

3. 这种生物的红色腹部、灰色翅膀等其它特点与已灭绝的旅鸽（Ectopistes migratorius）几乎是完全一致的。这种生物曾是北美数量最多的鸟类，在其鼎盛时期数量可达数十亿。但即使是这样繁盛的鸟类也逃不过因人类贪婪而灭绝的悲惨命运，已知最后一只旅鸽于1914年9月1日在辛辛那提动物园去世。尽管它们已被正式列为灭绝物种，但在民间偶尔也会传出几起目击报道（就像象牙喙啄木鸟一样）。我个人坚信：人类那愚蠢和自私的行为是不足以摧毁这个曾经繁荣的物种的，他们其中的一部分种群可能仍然在人类未触及的地区生存着。

参考

1. ^User Submitted Cryptid Sighting: Passenger Pigeon https://pinebarrensinstitute.com/user-submitted-encounters/2018/8/18/user-submitted-cryptid-sighting-3