From the Editor

Ivory-billed Woodpecker by John W. Fitzpatrick

When Living Bird editor-in-chief Tim Gallagher began writing The Grail Bird a few years ago, I could sense his excitement as he tracked down people who claimed to have seen an Ivory-billed Woodpecker and revived decades-old stories about a legendary bird that many believed had been driven to extinction. Against the odds, his research also led him to see an Ivory-billed Woodpecker himself, a moment that would change history at the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology and ultimately spread hope for the ivory-bill and endangered species around the globe.

In February 2004, Tim followed up on a fresh lead--an outdoorsman from Arkansas, Gene Sparling, had reported on a list serve that he had seen a bird with the markings of an Ivory-billed Woodpecker while kayaking in the Cache River National Wildlife Refuge in Arkansas. Tim and colleague Bobby Harrison, a professor at Oakwood College in Alabama, arranged to go with Gene to the swampy forest where he had seen the bird. On the second day of their trip, while Sparling paddled ahead, a huge black-and-white bird flew across the bayou directly in front of Tim and Bobby. Both knew instantly that it was an Ivory-billed Woodpecker. It flew off and disappeared into the forest, leaving them overcome with emotion that they had just seen a bird they had sought for years.

The ivory-bill was gone in a flash, and Tim knew his sighting could turn out to be just like the others he had been researching for his book--an appearance by a ghost bird that left no evidence. In March 2004, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, working with The Nature Conservancy and other partner organizations, launched a search and pledged secrecy while they sought better evidence for the bird and protection for its habitat. More than 50 searchers, many employed by the Lab, would spend about 15,000 person-hours looking for the ivory-bill in the Big Woods of Arkansas over the next 14 months. Meanwhile, back at the Johnson Center for Birds and Biodiversity, the Lab's bioacoustics experts analyzed thousands of hours of sounds recorded in the bayous, listening for audible proof.

Although frustrated by their inability to obtain clear photographic evidence, the team agreed to go public on May 18, 2005, with what they had--seven solid sightings and about four seconds of blurry but convincing video footage captured by University of Arkansas professor David Luneau. The story leaked earlier than anticipated, but the journal Science rushed publication of an online article presenting the evidence. The rediscovery was announced at a press conference on April 28 (see the press conference excerpts).

Since then, people have written to or called us, telling us that they wept at the news, that the return of the ivory-bill was an answer to their prayers. The emotions ran deep at the Lab of Ornithology too, a place where the sounds and images of ivory-bills--recorded by founder Arthur "Doc" Allen and his crew in 1935--are a continual presence in our visitors' center, a reminder of the importance of bird research and conservation.

We thank the members and supporters of the Lab who are helping to make dreams of ivory-bills and the conservation of other birds a reality through your unfailing contributions toward our work. It's been a privilege to witness the story unfold, to see daily the deep passions of those who are working to help ensure the future of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker we thought we had lost. As you'll read in the words of Lab director John Fitzpatrick on the next page, "This is no ordinary bird."

--Miyoko Chu

For permission to reprint all or part of this article, please contact Laura Erickson, editor, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, 159 Sapsucker Woods Rd., Ithaca, NY, 14850. Phone: (607) 254-1114. email: lle24@cornell.edu