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The ivory-billed woodpecker (Campephilus
principalis) was last seen in the United States
in 1944. Though there have been unconfirmed reports
of sightings since then, the bird has long been considered
extinct.
Now at least one specimen of the bird
has been observed in the field. The sightings were made
on the Cache River in Arkansas in 2004 and 2005.
This is a major development for bird
lovers in general and ornithologists in particular.
It's also a major opportunity for serious bird watchers
to keep an eye out for this stunning bird.
The ivory-billed woodpecker is a spectacular
bird. Somewhat larger than a crow, the bird has a prominent
crest, an ivory-colored bill and a distinctive blue-black
and white appearance. The crest of the male is bright
red.
Iivory-billed woodpeckers formerly
lived across the American South, although individual
birds were uncommon. The bird requires large areas of
mature trees for nesting and feeding.
The Audubon Society has an excellent
set of web pages on telling the difference between the
relatively common pileated
woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) and the
ivory-billed
woodpecker. The society also has a web
page that describes the significance of the rediscovery
of the woodpecker.
The cover of the 3 June 2005 issue
of the journal Science
features a painting of a male ivory-billed woodpecker
(see Fig. 1). Inside is a Perspectives article by ornithologist
David S. Wilcove ("Rediscovery of the Ivory-Billed
Woodpecker," p. 1422). Wilcove's article introduces
the formal paper by John J. Fitzpatrick and a host of
co-authors who made possible the discovery ("Ivory-Billed
Woodpecker (Campephilus principalis) Persists
in Continental; North America," pp. 1460-1462).
Both these articles make for fascinating
reading, for it is not often that a species presumed
to be extinct is rediscovered.
Forrest M. Mims III 
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