Mysteries At The Museum: Season 9, Episode 4

9 - 4: Forgotten Lindbergh, Fordlandia, Forest Owlet Fraud

Among the many artifacts in the the International Museum of Surgical Science in Chicago, Illinois is a multi-chambered glass device invented by famous aviator Charles Lindbergh, who hoped to cure a relative of a grave heart condition. At the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, is a historic collection of automobiles and other national treasures. But among this Americana is a set of items that were involved in one of the famed industrialist's most audacious gambles -- a venture in the Brazilian rainforest that ended in destruction and financial loss. And the Harvard University campus boasts a natural history collection with 21 million animal specimens: the Museum of Comparative Zoology. Hidden in its storage area is a rare creature: the preserved body of an Indian forest owlet. Once thought to be extinct, this bird served as evidence in a bizarre case of deception that rewrote 20th century ornithology - not once, but twice.