...continuing on with the major extinct bird species of America, we next come to our friend the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker, (Campephilus principalis)...a big purty bird that has the distinction of being the only critter in Steve's Typewritten Book of the Not-So-Grateful Dead to have gone extinct twice...

...first of all, let me tell you that the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker is NOT the Pileated Woodpecker. The Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus), is a similar, big, crow-sized woodpecker that you might see occasionally all through the eastern U.S.

...Though similar in appearance, the Pileated has proved far more adaptable to man than did the Ivory-Bill. I've seen them numerous times... They are fairly common here in Arkansas, and almost any hunter has seen, or at least heard the jack hammering, of a Pileated at least once whilst in the woods.

In the JPEG at the right you can see the white striping on the face, the solid black back and wing tops, and the dark bill that would let you know that you HAVE NOT re-discovered an extinct species... Nope... That's just a plain-Jane, run-of-the-mill, no-frills, Pileated Woodpecker.

The Ivory-bill was a beautiful, big, (20") Woodpecker that was probably never very common. It was valued among Native Americans for it's striking plumage and Ivory-white beak, which was an item of trade. It lived in the deep south and preferred old-growth, very mature river bottom timberland... and lots of it. It has been estimated that each breeding pair required up to two thousand acres of timber to live comfortably, and big timber like that was big business to the people of the south.

By 1900 or so, it was already one of the country's rarest birds. People foresaw the coming decline and extensively studied the bird in its natural habitat. There are 400+ museum specimens of more-or-less known origin, and a good amount of information was collected about the bird before it's extinction. Consequently, much is known about its habits and it's habitat.

Even the greatest ornithologists were impressed by the striking appearance... (James Audubon called it the "Van Dyke")... and the strength and tenacity of the Ivory-bills. Alexander Wilson once wrote of a bird he wounded and then left in his hotel room...

" In less than an hour I returned, and, on opening my door he set up a distressing shout, which appeared to proceed from grief that he had been discovered in his attempts to escape. He had mounted along the side of the window, nearly as high as the ceiling, a little below which he began to break through. The bed was covered with large pieces of plaster, the lath was exposed for at least fifteen inches square, and a hole large enough to admit the fist, opened to the weatherboards; so that, in less than another hour he would have certainly have succeeded in making his way through."

By 1939 it was estimated that there were only about 24 Ivory bills left in "five areas in Louisiana, Florida, and possibly South Carolina". The huge tracts of old-growth swamp forest they needed to survive were disappearing.

The last generally accepted sighting of C. principalis principalis was in 1951, but there were a number of possible sightings in the late 1960's and early 1970's... particularly in the Big Thicket area of east Texas, Southern Louisiana, and South Central Florida, around Highland Hammock. There are still occasional "sightings" reported, but the bird is generally accepted to be extinct.

The American Ivory Bill was not the only subspecies of Ivory Bill, however. C. principalis bairdii, or the Cuban Ivory Bill, was still around, but not faring well. In 1960 the population was suspected to be around 20... and in 1970... around 12. The last sighting was in 1974 and the entire species was thought lost.

In March of 1986, however, two local ornithologists saw a pair of Ivory bills in the Ojita de Agua forest in Eastern Cuba. The birds were sighted again the next month by an international team and the area was immediately put under protection. The Cubans were very willing to take the steps to preserve the birds, but it was probably too late...

It was only a year later, on March 16, 1987, that the last positive sighting was recorded. A female was seen flying from about 200m away. I found a report on the last days of the Cuban Ivory Bill and have posted it HERE if you are interested... or you can go to the original.

By 1990 or 1991 the last of the Cuban Ivory Bills are thought to have disappeared. The only hope for the entire Genus is the closely related Imperial Woodpecker from Mexico... the largest woodpecker in the world... but it hasn't been seen since the 1950's and is also believed extinct.

I figure the Ivory bill is probably gone for good... but... considering its habitat and habits... I think that there might be a chance that somewhere... back in a swamp... the "Van Dyke" might still be hiding away...-S.