Since 1944, nobody—in a way that can be verified, anyway—has seen an ivory-billed woodpecker alive. Once common from the Carolinas to Texas, the US Fish and Wildlife Service recommended last year the bird be removed from the Endangered Species List because it was extinct. Meanwhile, a group of scientists was climbing through humid Louisiana forests, chasing whispers the big bird—largest woodpecker in North America—still lived there.
Trail cameras, drone cameras, audio recordings, and, just as importantly their own eyes and ears, confirmed to members of the study the ivory-billed woodpeckers had survived in small numbers after all. They published their findings in a recent and not yet peer-reviewed paper.
Photos from the cameras were enough to give an indication of size, as well as distinctive markings that are, nevertheless difficult to distinguish, even for experts, from other woodpeckers that have similar colorings. Even better, the use of video allowed the scientists to make detailed observations of how the birds foraged for food and interacted socially, adding further differentiation that these were indeed the elusive ivory bills.
Steve Latta, who led the research team, had one particularly memorable encounter with the bird. “It flew up at an angle and I watched it for about six to eight seconds, which was fairly long for an ivory-billed woodpecker,” Latta told The Guardian. “I was surprised. I was visibly shaking afterwards. You realize you’ve seen something special that very few people had the opportunity to see.”
Many ornithologists had a hunch the swampy forests of the southeast held a small population of the shy birds.
“No one has held a camera and got a picture of one in years because it’s a scarce bird in tough swampy habitat and they don’t want people close to them because they’ve been shot at for 150 years,” said Geoffrey Hill, a biologist who unsuccessfully tried to spy the bird in Florida in 2005.
“They have better eyes than we do, they are high in the trees and actively flee people. They aren’t great thinkers but they have developed a pretty simple strategy to avoid people.”
Clearly, that strategy might need some tweaking.
Hello,. I grew up with Lord Gods in the 60’s and 70’s. I’m sorry, but you are mistaken about the origin of the beautiful bird’s name. Call me and I will gladly explain. 205.737.2663
^ Expect floods of automated solicitation (and scam) calls now that you’ve conveniently posted your number out there for the whole world to scrape. Why do people do that? :facepalm:
Hi, I have photos of a bird I encountered at a park while I was about to go fishing last summer of 2021, it seems like it has a big resemblance to the woodpecker in your article.
It may be a pileated woodpecker. They are visually quite similar. But could be.
We have pileated woodpeckers in VA. They get pretty large themselves, so I understand the possible confusion
Yeah, maybe a pileated, but now a sighting of an Ivory billed won’t be dismissed out of hand. We know they’re out there even if there aren’t many. A lot of dedicated bird watchers will be heading to Louisiana to add to their life lists. This is definitely a Holy Grail of bird watching.
Infound one.
All the recent articles about this have pictures of pleated woodpeckers which are similar. I think it is causing lots of confusion
“Video evidence” It would be great if there was some, or at least still images. It’s all down to taking a stranger’s word, as usual.
Its called a lord god. And they are still here its just because you take away land rights if it shows up on your land no one is gping to tell you where they live. In fact because of the land rights problem many farmers killed them to avoid louising rights. We need a major rewrite of these laws. No one should be penalized for having an endangored animal in thete property they should be rewarded and the animal moved to gov property.
Hi, bird Scientist here. If you have a photo that could be of interest to science research contact your local Audibon bird club. They have a process for reviewing and passing up special sighting
Probably someone else’s number, I bet.
I hope they leave these beautiful, rare birds alone or they will go extinct allover again, again.
Got a kick out of this oxymoron. LOL
I lived in Ridgewood,nj and was always in the woods and this woodpecker was always flying around and in the trees pecking and it would land on the house so I can say I saw some of them
I walk through the woods every day and night to get to the bus stop and get home i grew up in the woods seeing frogs snakes turtles animals and birds and the woodpecker with the red head was there last summer and it even landed on my house and neighbors house and pecked the aluminum gutters there is a lot of stuff in the woods and farms were all over
No. You absolutely say a pileated woodpecker or something similar. Ivory billed live among old growth swampy forests.
sorry to say but not true, although they prefer that environment, with growing civilizations, they are forced to move on and abroad
I saw three last April in Coldspring TX and I had a witness with me. There are literally 100000 square miles of wilderness in TX LA AR Ms and AL that no one ever enters, to summarily pontificate an extinction is pompous to say the least
These birds are alive and well in north west Alabama.I see them regular in my town.Last year I read a article that said the were extinct which is false.I have a video of one I filmed just about 2 months ago.
Very respectfully, it would be cool if you wrote here in the comments what you know about the origin of the name. Cheers.
Hi, We have seen this big Bird in our yard for over 20 years……. Plus, many other beautiful birds ****
You can come and see for yourself *
Maria, in which state do you live? Could you be seeing a Pileated woodpecker and not an Ivory-billed? The Ivory-billed is larger, has a lot of white on the wings and an ivory-colored beak, whereas the Pileated (which is a fairly common bird) has a dark beak and not as much white on the wings:
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ivory-billed_Woodpecker/species-compare/
If you in fact have an Ivory-billed woodpecker in your yard you are one lucky lady! There are a lot of birders who will want to visit you! Put me at the top of your guest list, please!:-)
I have seen this traveling across America with my gf last year. It was a very large compared to other woodpeckers I’ve seen. I must go through my pictures to see if I took a lot. Even got a bald eagle carrying a bass!
They are professional ornithologists. I’m sure they know what a piliated looks like.
I have seen in Baldwin county Alabama
Those that saying they seen it regularly in your back yard or even just seeing it. Sorry to bust your bubble. No you didn’t. That was most definitely a Pilated Woodpecker. They look very similar but not the same.
If you were to see it would have been exceedingly and not in your backyard. And when I say exceedingly rare your have a better chance at winning the lotto.
To be fair, the photo at the beginning of the article does not have an ivory bill. While we know how rare they are and have been for decades, I am really heartened by non scientists being so enthusiastic. It is their interest and love….and that of young people that will help other species recover and survive.
Respectfully, I think it is really rude to be so negative and haughty in your reply. You may discourage a future ornithologist or ecologist….or just a backyard bird watcher. All have their value
Oh yeah, I seens dem evra days heres at me bird feaders out in redirect in cornhuska cuntry. Deys commin. Deys a Lil bit lurger dan a Robin redbrest. Iffn ya donts belifes me, jus gimme a Holla ats 4026996864
The only comment.I have about this Woodpecker.I am glad that you found it. The only comment I may have is, Now that you have found it aren’t you worried that some simple minded bunch of souvenir hunters will try to capture the bird?
The ivory billed woodpecker is so elusive, with no confirmed sighting in nearly 80 years, that I’m highly doubtful this was an ivory billed sighting. Until the data are independently verified via peer review, the ivory billed woodpecker is extinct.
I’ve seen them every year here in Oklahoma
Easier to protect it when you know its out there, rather than get silently poached to oblivion.
And it’s easier for rare bird black marketeers to poach it if you pinpoint the last surviving colony.
I saw one here local in Fort Myers behind family Dollar store near the creek is a palm tree an made it’s nest.. lol very cool siting
I would Really like to know your truth..
Not able to call..
Alas i am also just a human..
Not a Scholar or Published.
Blessings Dear Sir..
Jeni
I seen one the other day an was like its been a while since I have seen one of you I’m in SC an they are still out here
Hello Keith Knighten here.
I’ve been allover Joe Wheeler wildlife preservation all my life and I ‘ve seen this bird. I think that I’ve got one that hangs out around the house.
There are some behind my house near the Gregg County Airport on Pleasant Green Rd Longview Texas
I know the ivory wood pecker is not extinct I seen one today at my house today as I type at 6;50 am
I have have 2 pictures from 2020 which I thought were probably Pileated Woodpeckers. I’m not knowledgeable enough to decipher between the 2 but I would like to send the pics to you to get your opinion. I reside in central Illinois, 30 min from the Quad Cities area and the Mississippi River.
People always said I was crazy, but I saw one on Sanibel Island Florida in 1980 pecking on a dead palm tree. I was 14 and into bird watching, but no camera!
Ive got a photo of one from 2006 i was in a deer stand in a swamp on my grandparents land in SE Georgia. At the time i had no idea how rare it was. I have the old cell phone still.
George Butler’s movie The Lord God Bird is a must see, if you are into this great woodpecker.
I have seen this bird and what an amazing bird he was. A large piece of property that hasn’t been touched in probably 100 years was being developed in Palmetto, FL. I was in my office on a Sunday and I see this huge bird fly into the live oak outside my office window. I went outside to investigate and was just in case. He was huge (20-22″), woody woodpecker, white on his wings. I got within 10′ of him and just stood and watched him. This was probably in 2004-2005. Then he just flew away. I went back in my office and searched the internet for large species of woodpeckers and it was definitely an ivory bill. I immediately called Cornell University Dept of Ornithology and they pretty much told me I was an idiot. I know what I saw.
I live near Cornell university and know the types of people they are, Ithaca is a really big melting pot of people s and behaviors. I’m replying after seeing all these comments, as I am a bird watcher, I know the difference between the 2 birds, the ivory billed and pialated, as both are here in upstate NY, growing up, there was always a pialated in the woods behind our home (Elmira) they have a very loud singing voice and there colors are dark except for their crest, a magnificent red. Last fall hear in Horseheads NY, (outskirts of Elmira) I have seen the ivory billed going crazy ripping through a stump in an open field, he came back fir 3 days revisiting the stump and I haven’t seen seen him since. This reply is to back you up and all others and to say to the idiots going against us that they are negative people who’s only purpose is to make other people belittled. Fear not, those types don’t have the guts to say it to our faces. Oo-Rah!!
I just saw an ivory-billed woodpecker in my backyard in Ozark, Alabama! It was beautiful! It had a jhuge red crest on its head and was much bigger than the woodpeckers I usually see…that’s why I checked out on the internet. It looked exactly like the picture!
It flew in while I was sitting in the backyard and landed on a tree stump a few feet away. Then, after about 10 seconds, it took off and went into a grove of trees. I didn’t see it again.
Ozark, Alabama is in the southeast corner of the state. I live in the middle of town but there is a big field behind my house and many trees. There are many wild animals that roam through the field, including deer, fox, coyote and raccoon. Birds include owl, mockingbirds, mourning dove, woodpeckers, hawk, and finch. The ivory-billed woodpecker I just saw took my breath away. I am so sorry I didn’t have a camera/iPhone with me!
Pileated woodpeckers are large and have red crests too. They are very similar to an ivory-billed, and are relatively common.
Patricia, are you sure it wasn’t a Pileated woodpecker? Did you look that up as well? Pileated woodpeckers are common although they look very similar to an Ivory-billed woodpecker. They have a dark beat whereas the Ivory-billed has a lighter beak. Here in the Northeast pileated woodpeckers are seen although I don’t see them as much as I do the smaller woodpeckers due to their shyness and habit of keeping to . If you can, keep a watch on where you saw it and take a photo. Better yet, put out a trail cam aimed at the area where you spied it. Woodpeckers of all kinds are drawn to suet feeders. You might want to set one of those up to see if it returns. Or, stuff suet into crevices in the tree stump you saw the bird settle on to see if it comes back. It would be a monumental sighting if you did indeed see an Ivory-billed woodpecker. Birders from all over would flock to your yard!
Probably a pileated woodpecker. They are quite huge and very similar. Ivory billed woodpeckers have white”ivory”bills.
Not gonna make any friends with this, but I sorta get the feeling that animals’ collective view of us is: “Humans are tragically hilarious a**holes.” (asterisks added for emphasis.)
The only comment.I have about this Woodpecker.I am glad that you found it. The only comment I may have is, Now that you have found it aren’t you worried that some simple minded bunch of souvenir hunters will try to capture the bird?
I am hopeful the research had indeed uncovered the clinging existence of this great species. You must remember, divulging information on topics of this nature can be bittersweet and could lead to unfavourable consequences. Birders flooding into any area where these sole survivors reside would be devastating. A wise researcher would bite his/ her tongue, and let them thrive and flourish, over disclosing information that could potentially harm the species.
This bird thrives in the Apalachicola River basin of northwest Florida. Only have 3 grainy pictures of this magnificent fowl. Unfortunately nobody will take reports and sightings with merit. Protection of habitat is necessary for repopulation. Willing to guide any advocates for conservation and proof!
I was not convinced that this bird is extant by the evidence presented. I disagree even that the “ivory bill” in the tree is a bird at all. This is a politicized issue with dollars at stake. Please send better evidence. We’re all rooting for this bird….
Most respected ornithologists agree that the bird is not extant. It’s a shame there is even discourse about this anymore. I can take better photos of birds with my phone through binoculars than the photos in the pre-print. You’d think years of effort with high quality cameras, trail cams and audio recorders would produce slightly higher quality evidence than they have. I’d like to see them put the same amount of effort into conserving any of the other thousands of endangered species, rather than trying to find a clearly extinct animal.
What is the difference between the ivory billed woodpecker and the pleated woodpecker?
Most obvious difference is the pileateds have dark bills and ivory bills have white”ivory”bills.
Color pattern, size, behavior, eating habits, ect… enjoi
I’ve seen them hiking on the Ouachita Trail in Arkansas. I didn’t think anything of it but just thought it was a rather large woodpecker.
Not convinced, sorry. This is like the zupruder film, or fuzzy Bigfoot footage. I need clear evidence (better images, a carcass, feathers, scat, a nest, etc), otherwise this just comes off like a trying to convince me that Bigfoot or Nessie are real.
Big Foot and Nessie are real!
When was tbe last sighting from this group? Are all their sightings from 2006 – 2008?
Mid fall 2021 upstate NY
What is the biggest pileated seen? I am in northwest arkansas and the woodpecker i have seen in my yard at least twice is very large with a yellowish beak and very bright red colors. Wondering if mine is the godbird. He is at least a foot tall possibly larger.
I have seen the pialated at about 2 foot tall. They get real big and they have an unmistakable singing voice, real loud and beautiful
The question isn’t whether they are, but who’s the idiot that claimed they aren’t.
I won’t tell anyone that they haven’t seen one, but the fact they aren’t extinct is a function of the survivors being far away from most humans. I wish everyone the best of luck going out to spot one. Your presence will deter potential
poachers.
I would not discount anyone’s sightings out of hand. To my mind, this is a case where “citizen science” may have an advantage over standard scientific research due to the vastness of the territory that is being observed at any given time in the country; in the world.
There have been species of both flora and fauna that were thought to be extinct that have been rediscovered in recent years, including a species of whale. If a whale can disappear and then decades later be rediscovered, I believe a bird could (albeit perhaps even harder to see/find). I believe it is entirely possible that small colonies of these birds could be living in areas away from public spaces where only homeowner/landowners, an occasional hunter or hiker, or otherwise unsophisticated birder may have the golden opportunity of seeing them while not even realizing their good luck.
As for evidence– how often have you tried and failed to capture a good photo of an elusive bird among thick foliage, or have seen something and wished you had your camera with you? I am a birder and it’s happened to me too many times to count. Even at my own backyard feeder I have seen birds that by the time I was able to point and shoot they had moved out of the frame never to return again.
So, let’s all keep an open and inquiring mind. If nothing else, this can be a wonderful learning experience for us all. For the folks who are casual birders or not even birders at all who are posting sightings of this bird, this is a great opportunity to do some research of your own: to question and compare your sightings to the information (including photographs and recordings) from respected websites such as the Cornell School of Ornithology (allaboutbirds.org); The Audubon Society (Audubon.org); the American Bird Conservancy (abcbirds.org). This could open up to you the wonderful world of birding, which could give you a lifetime of pleasure (not to mention, frustration)!
But, I agree with Ray that one should be judicious regarding divulging possible sightings of rare birds. If it were me, I would try to get as good a photo and/or recording as I could, or at the very least as soon as possible record everything I could think of as to the appearance of the bird–maybe even drawing a quick sketch. I would document the date, time, place, weather conditions, anything I could think of that might contribute to making an accurate identification and I would then keep my findings close to the vest while contacting one of the above resources. If I appeared to be “blown off” without good cause I would try to contact another vetted source such as a local naturalist club; local Cornell Cooperative Extension; etc. But, I would be very cautious, both for the birds’ sake as well as that of my own safety, to never disclose location, etc. to just anyone.
I am encouraged by the interest this article has invoked. The more people become interested in the natural world around us the more the potential for answers, solutions, and even new discoveries. The entire field of microbiology was helped into existence by an average “Joe” (well, Anthony) who was curious enough and patient enough to study a bit of water in his teacup (Leeuwenhoek, 1676–discovered bacteria). So let’s celebrate and encourage the citizen scientists among us! Who knows what cool things you will discover?
Excellent advice! I hope the posters on this site read your suggestions.
If you watch the video, a drawerful of dead Ivorybills is shown. Pretty much explains why they are no more!
Now that’s and ignorant statement. Do you really think a show or movie producer would show a pile of dead “so-called extinct” there would be consequences. You must one of those “woke followers” promoting negative ideas. Unless you have “Real Proof” that this animal is extinct, then I suggest you keep your negative thoughts to yourself
Ron, do yourself, and the rest of us, a favor by doing an Internet search for “Ivory Billed and Pileated Woodpecker Specimens Side by Side”. It will show pictures of Ivory Billed and Pileated woodpeckers (dead) in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution. I’m pretty sure the Smithsonian isn’t “woke”.
your point?? I dont need to do the search, I grew up knowing both and I never said the smithsonian was woke. must be you are one of them weak minded that believes everything you hear in the news
I saw one in my front yard in Newark Valley NY 2 years ago. It honestly startled me when I saw it due to it’s enormous size. It thought it had to be fake for a second but definitely not. It’s massive size is not only something to look at but also something to hear. Hands down one of the coolest animals I’ve seen in upstate NY.
as long as they are not seeing a varigated pileated woodpecker that I heard can sometimes hatch out and survive. their coloring has more white than the normal.pileated and can.lead to confusion.
The The video (from 2008?) is not convincing evidence of the existence of an ivory bill.Go
This is wonderful news!
Yeah…. That is the poorest quality video.
If I’m stuck in the woods trying to capture video of this woodpecker. I would have the highest end equipment money can buy
This looks like it was done with a phone camera.
Get high-end trail cameras and a lot of them. Set them out in this area of the woods you believe contains one of these rare birds.
Eventually you will get proof in high quality video and photos.
I might be able to help you. I have found a large community of them. They are in a place in Alabama that you dare not go without a family member of the landholder.
Where is your still photo and video evidence?
I know I posted footage of this bird on my Facebook Eules feagle and tried to get anyone to look at it but no one will I’ve tagged people and everything
I live in Alexandria, Louisiana, and I hunt every year in the piney woods of kisatchie Forest, and when I hunt , I’m usually up in a tree in a climbing stand about 30′ , and probably 10-15 years ago , I had one of the so called extinct woodpeckers come in the area I was in , massive bird , probably 14″ to 17″ in height , the right coloration , it made such an enormous loud reverberation throughout the woods , I was 70-80 yards from it , the bird was every bit of 45-50′ high in the timber it was in , that I couldn’t hear for the 20-30 minutes it was there to deer hunt . Such a beautiful big bird.
Alec (Alex) Proud!!
Has everyone forgotten the sightings in Arkansas a few years ago?
I quote from Daniel Boorstin’s “The Image” (1961), “By magical modern machinery we hope to clear the world of its commonplaceness – of its omnipresent tree sparrows, starlings, and blue jays – and fill it with rare Sutton’s warblers, ivory-billed woodpeckers, whooping cranes, and rufous hummingbirds. Every bird-watcher knows how hard it is to reconcile oneself to the fact that the common birds are the ones most usually seen and that rare birds are really quite uncommon. Now all of us frustrate ourselves by the expectation that we can make the exotic an everyday experience (without it ceasing to be exotic); and can somehow make commonplaceness itself disappear.
We were on vacation two weeks ago in the Smokey Mountains in Tenn. I was sitting on the porch overlooking the stream that runs past. about 60′ away was a rotten stump and an Ivory Billed landed on it and worked on it for about 1 minute. where I live in Ohio I see many Pileated Woodpeckers but the Ivory was simply stunning . I’ll never forget seeing it.