Arthur Allen's Ivory-bills

In 1924, Arthur Allen (above) and his wife Elsa traveled to Florida to search for Ivory-billed Woodpeckers. They explored a cypress swamp with local guide Morgan Tindle (below right, holding an alligator). After a lengthy search, they located a pair and took the first picture of living ivory-bills (below left). This picture was retouched by Allen and looks almost like a sketch.

Allen later wrote: "I have just enjoyed one of the greatest experiences of my life, for I have found that which they said could not be found--the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. Once a fairly common bird in many parts of Florida, it is supposed to have followed the Carolina Parakeet into extinction. Those who know most about Florida birds held out little hope of my ever seeing one alive, but after a month's search I have found a pair of them, and they are very much alive. They are so very much alive that it has been only with the greatest difficulty that we have located where they roost in the cypress swamp and where they feed in the great pinewoods. It is good to know that they are not yet entirely extinct, and it is a great satisfaction to accomplish one's quest." To Arthur Allen's great chagrin, a pair of local taxidermists who heard about the birds went out and shot them--legally.