In a harrowing series of events, the world’s ‘loneliest bird’, New Zealand’s Nigel was found dead recently. As his tragic story goes, he fell in love with a bird that never reciprocated his love and was found dead next to it. As it happens, Nigel fell in love with a concrete bird built by conservationist to attract some real gannets in country’s Mana Island. Some two decades ago, the conservationist placed cement replicas of the birds trying to lure real gannets in the hope of establishing a breeding colony there.

However, their elaborate plan had not worked as well until Nigel arrived at the island in 2013, to make his home on Mana first time in 40 years, reports the Indian Express.

It is believed that gannets like to nest where another gannet has nested before and hence they placed 80 fake birds in hope. When Nigel first arrived the conservationists were exuberant but soon their excitement turned into a sorry affair when they saw the bird trying hard to woo his immovable partner. According to a report by the Guardian, the bird even built a nest with seaweeds mud, and twigs for his concrete love but failed to impress.

‘I think it must have been quite a frustrating existence. Whether or not he was lonely, he certainly never got anything back, and that must have been very strange experience, when he spent years courting. I think we all have a lot of empathy for him, because he had this fairly hopeless situation,’ Department of Conservation ranger Chris Bell, who found Nigel’s body said.

Although a few months ago three more real gannets arrived at the island, they chose the other side of the land that forced Nigel to continue his solitary existence.