The most recent round of extinctions hit hard for all nature lovers with 23 species being declared gone forever. Ornithologists may have been hit harder than anyone because the long-sought-after Ivory-Billed woodpecker was included on the list. This inclusion was not a major shock since the bird has long been on the verge of collapse but was still a major blow to bird enthusiasts who were holding out hope.
What Was This Bird?
The ivory-billed woodpecker was once the largest woodpecker species north of Mexico, and the third-largest woodpecker in the world. It stood at a height between 1.4 ft and 1.8 ft long, and its wingspan of 2.5 feet long. Its large size garnered the bird the nickname “Lord God Bird” or the “Holy Grail Bird”. The nickname comes from the shock that people had when first seeing it. The woodpecker is identified by its ivory-colored bill and two white stripes that run down the sides of its head to the lower back. The males and females could be told apart by the color of the crest. Males have a red crest and females have a black one.
Its range originally consisted of the lower parts of Illinois to Florida and even some official sightings in Cuba. The most prominent regions it thrived was in Arkansas and Louisiana. The reason these areas were best suited for the bird was its preference for living in cypress swamps and the large bottomland forests. These were the habitats that once dominated the region. Although it lives in the murky habitat you wouldn’t have seen it amongst the shade unless it was feeding on insects. It mainly preferred to stay in the top canopies where the sun was.
What Happened?
The story of what happened to this woodpecker is sadly like what has happened to most extinct species. Habitat destruction caused by human activity caused the population numbers to dramatically decline, along with early scientists hunting them to make preserved specimens. The decline most started post-civil was as the industrial age started in the lumber industry and companies started chopping down the cypress forests. The bird almost exclusively nested in these large trees and at the speed the trees were disappearing they could not adapt fast enough.
To make matters worse the bird’s life history hindered them from being able to recover after conservation efforts were established. The ivorybill was an extremely territorial bird with a mating pair occupying up to 6 miles. This territoriality meant that even when trying to save the bird if there wasn’t enough habitat left the population would never recover. The inevitable conclusion was the bird’s complete disappearance. The last official sighting was in 1944 in Arkansas in one of the last areas known to have its habitat. Since then, there have been no official sightings that have occurred. Although some have been reported, but not confirmed.
Some Have Hope, But Is It Wasted?
In light of this woodpecker going extinct, some have pushed back against this status. They cite the unconfirmed sightings and especially a video recorded in 2004 that seemed to show a blurry ivory-billed woodpecker. The ones pushing back claim that by listing it as already extinct we are just making way for further destruction of its last remaining habitats. The wildlife service on the other hand is confident in the decision. Many experts agree that the unconfirmed sightings are non-professionals confusing the bird with the pileated woodpecker. The pileated woodpecker is another large woodpecker species shown below.
It is important to note that a research team is currently starting a grass-root effort to find the bird in Louisiana. This effort started in November of 2021 as a reaction to the extinction ruling. Regardless of your stance on its extinction status, it is highly unlikely the ivorybill will ever recover. In its honor nature lovers lets give a final salute to the “Lord God Bird”.
