The Ivory Billed Woodpecker
The Ivory-Billed Woodpecker (Campephilus principalis) is a bird species that has reached legendary status.
Although officially classified as definitely or probably extinct, these woodpeckers continue to generate both reports of sightings and intensive research on their existence. Ranked as the largest woodpecker to ever inhabit the United States and one of the largest in the world, the continued existence of this species is highly dampened by the large-scale destruction of its original habitat.Because of the rapid decline in their population during the late 1800's, almost all that is known about the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker stems from old reports and hand-drawn illustrations. This bird averages about 20 inches in length with a 30 inch wing span. Apart from their size, these woodpeckers are distinguished by white markings on their neck and back, extensive white on the trailing edge of their upper and under wings, pale yellow eyes, a bright red crest on the males and large ivory colored bills. When their wings are folded, a large triangle of white is seen on their lower back. Because of a similar size and shared markings, the Pileated Woodpecker is often confused with the Ivory-Billed.
The territory of the Ivory-Billed once extended throughout most of the Southeastern United States and as far north as Southern Illinois. They prefer large tracts of hardwood forests with close access to water. Their major diets consist of larva and insects found in dead or dying trees, as well as some seeds and fruits. They excavate nests in dead trees, where both parents share in the raising of chicks. They are thought to pair for life. Due to the wide-spread destruction of their original habitats, they have only been linked to bottom land swamp forests over the past 100 years.
The last claimed sighting of an Ivory-Billed Woodpecker was made in 2004 when a team from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology searched a swamp in Arkansas. However, their evidence proved to be inconclusive, once again leaving the existence of this magnificent bird in doubt. For that reason, the Ivory-Billed is often referred to as the “Holy Grail” of Ornithology.
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IvoryBill discoveredSightings were rare and Tanner estimated that only about 20 birds remained. Six years later two men sent by the Audubon Society lo...
History of the IvorybillThe Ivory-billed Woodpecker’s primary habitat is the virgin forests of southeastern United States, but has been spotted as far b...
Search for the IvoryBillIt is native to the forests of the southeastern United States but the bird has only been spotted sporadically since the 1940s. It ...
Ivory-Billed WoodpeckerShe is second only to one woodpecker that was found in Mexico, but the woodpecker in Mexico is considered to be extinct. The ivory...
