and with it went much hope for the continued existence of ivory-billed woodpeckers. However, unconfirmed sightings were occasionally noted throughout the years from Missouri, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Texas, and Louisiana. Reports of their existence in Florida prompted the formation of the Chipola River Wildlife Sanctuary in 1950, but there were no further sightings and the sanctuary was discontinued two years later. In 2002, after a reported ivory-bill sighting in the area, researchers conducted a two month long search in the Pearl River Swamp of Louisiana, but found no conclusive evidence of their persistence in this area. Finally, in February of 2004, a kayaker saw an ivory-billed woodpecker in the Cache River National Wildlife refuge in Monroe County, Arkansas. This sighting was confirmed when researchers were able to videotape the bird in April of 2004, the first confirmed ivory-billed woodpecker sighting since 1944. After gathering additional evidence for a year, including sound recordings, the researchers published their findings in April 2005. The federal government has pledged $10 million towards the protection of ivory-billed woodpeckers, and another $10 million has been pledged by private sector groups and individuals. A recovery plan that will protect the birds' critical habitat is currently in the works. In the meantime, managers of the wildlife refuge have restricted access to 5,000 acres of forest in the area where ivory-billed woodpeckers were spotted.
Cuba: Ivory-billed woodpecker populations declined sharply in the late 19th century, when acres of old-growth forest were cleared to make way for sugar plantations. Later harvesting of forests for timber exacerbated the decline. By the 1950s, ivory-billed woodpeckers were restricted to a remote area in the eastern part of the country, in what was then the Oriente Province (now Santiago de Cuba). Management plans were adopted that involved educating the public about the birds' plight and setting aside preserves protected by wardens. Ivory-billed woodpeckers managed to persist in eastern Cuba until at least 1987. However, the last unconfirmed sighting occurred in northeastern Cuba in 1991, and ivory-billed woodpeckers are now presumed extirpated in Cuba.
The IUCN currently lists ivory-billed woodpeckers as critically endangered, after having listing them as threatened in 1988, extinct in 1994, and critically endangered in 2000. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lists them as endangered. (BirdLife International, 2004; Cornell Lab of Ornithology, 2005; Fitzpatrick, et al., Published online April 28, 2005; Garrido, 1985; Jackson, 2002; Lamb, 1958; U.S. Department of the Interior, et al., 2005)
There are two recognized supspecies of ivory-billed woodpecker: Campephilus principalis principalis, the U.S. subspecies, and Campephilus principalis bairdii, the Cuban subspecies, which is now presumed extinct. The Cuban subspecies is distingued by its smaller size, white stripe that extends further forward on the head, and smaller nasal tufts.
It is unknown how ivory-billed woodpeckers arrived in Cuba. It is possible that they arrived on their own during the Pleistocene glaciation, when sea levels were lower. Some have suggested that they might have been introduced through human actions.
The fossil record of ivory-billed woodpeckers is sparse, but their bones have been excavated at archaeological sites as far north as Illinois and Ohio, emphasizing how important these birds were as items of trade for Native Americans. (Jackson, 2002)
Tanya Dewey (editor), Animal Diversity Web.
Allison Poor (author), University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.
living in the Nearctic biogeographic province, the northern part of the New World. This includes Greenland, the Canadian Arctic islands, and all of the North American as far south as the highlands of central Mexico.
living in the southern part of the New World. In other words, Central and South America.
uses sound to communicate
young are born in a relatively underdeveloped state; they are unable to feed or care for themselves or loc