Ivory-billed Woodpecker

Adult male Ivory-billed Woodpecker, colorized photograph by Arthur Allen, owned by Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

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1. Cool Facts
2. Description
3. Similar Species
4. Sound
5. Range
6. Habitat
7. Food
8. Behavior
9. Reproduction
10. Conservation Status
11. Other Names

The largest of the woodpeckers north of Mexico and the third largest in the world, the Ivory-billed Woodpecker was a bird of old-growth Southeastern forests. Destruction of its forest habitat caused severe population declines in the 1800s, and only a handful of birds remained into the 20th century. It was thought to be extinct, but has been rediscovered in the "Big Woods" region of eastern Arkansas. For a full account of this story, including conservation efforts, go here.

Cool Facts

• The Cuban form of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker was considered a separate species at one time. It closely resembled the bird from the United States, but it had a slightly smaller bill and the white neck stripes extended farther onto the face. It suffered the same fate as the mainland form, disappearing as the mature forests were destroyed. The last confirmed sighting was made in 1986. Some may still persist in southeastern Cuba, but it may be extinct.
• The Ivory-billed Woodpecker is very similar to the larger and very closely related Imperial Woodpecker of Mexico. The Imperial Woodpecker, the largest woodpecker in the world, lacked the white neck stripes and had a longer, thinner crest. It was a bird of mature pine forests, and also is likely extinct.

• Bills of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker were used as decorations by native Americans and a thriving trade in them existed across much of North America. The presence of Ivory-billed Woodpecker skulls in excavations of archaeological sites outside of the known range of the woodpecker show the extent of the trade and not an ancient range for the species.

• The Cornell Lab of Ornithology was involved in an attempt to relocate the Ivory-billed Woodpecker in Louisiana in 2002. Go here for details of that search and more information on Ivory-billed Woodpeckers. No ivory-bills were found, and a potential double-knock was determined to be gunshots. Read a report of the expedition published in BirdScope The story of the successful hunt for the species in Arkansas in 2004 and 2005 can be found here.

Description

• Size: 46-51 cm (18-20 in)
• Wingspan: 76-80 cm (30-31 in)
• Weight: 450-570 g (15.89-20.12 ounces)

• Large woodpecker.
• Red or red-and-black crest on head.
• Black body.
• Large white patches in wings.

White along rear of wings (secondaries). White conspicuous in flight; at rest shows as large white patch across back. White stripes up back and sides of neck, reaching just onto face. Throat black. Bill thick and ivory white. Whitish feathers over nostrils. Legs and feet light gray. Eyes yellow.

Sex Differences

Sexes similar, except male has red at back of crest and female lacks red.

Immature

Juvenile similar to adult, but has shorter crest, browner plumage, and brown eyes.

Similar Species

• Pileated Woodpecker is very similar, but has a smaller, dark or silvery bill (sometimes appearing white), the white neck line extending across the face to the top of the bill, a white throat, a white line above the eye, and red on top of the crest. It  A perched pileated lacks the large white back and shows only small white spots on the wings. In flight, the trailing edge of the wing is black in Pileated Woodpecker and white in Ivory-billed Woodpecker.

Sound

Call a nasal tooting "kent." Drum a quick double knock.

Range

Range Map

© 2004 Cornell Lab of Ornithology

About the map

Summer Range

Formerly resident from eastern Texas to North Carolina, and northward up the Mississippi River to Missouri. Also in Cuba.

Habitat

Mature bottomland forest, cypress swamps with large hardwoods.

Food

Insects, primarily beetle larvae, fruits, and nuts.

Behavior

Foraging

Stripped bark from recently dead trees to reach beetle larvae, excavated conical holes deep into wood.

Reproduction

Nest Type

Cavity in tree.

Egg Description

White.

Clutch Size

Condition at Hatching

Naked and helpless.

Conservation Status

Destruction of its forest habitat caused the Ivory-billed Woodpecker to decline, and by the 1880s the species was rare. Forest destruction accelerated for the war efforts of World Wars I and II and probably caused the final loss of the species in the United States. Although the species was thought to be extinct, it has recently been rediscovered in Arkansas. For a full account of this story, go here.

Other Names

Le pic noir a bec blanc (French)
El carpintero real (Spanish)

Sources used to construct this page:

1. Fitzpatrick, J. W., et al. 2005. Ivory-billed Woodpecker (Campephilus principalis) persists in continental North America. Scienceexpress. http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/1114103
2. Jackson, J. A. 2002. Ivory-billed Woodpecker (Campephilus principalis). In The Birds of North America, No. 711 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA.