Ivory-Billed Woodpecker

An Ivory-Billed Woodpecker,  thought to be extinct since 1944, has been sighted at the Cache River National Wildlife Refuge in Arkansas, USA.  Sightings of at least o­ne male bird in Arkansas in 2004 and 2005 were reported in April 2005, which makes it a lazarus species . 

Ivory Billed Woodpecker

John James Audubon watercolor from 1826

(This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. This applies worldwide.)

On April 28, 2005,  a group of authors headed by the Cornell University Ornithology Lab reported the discovery of at least o­ne Ivory-billed Woodpecker, a male, in the Big Woods area of Arkansas in 2004 and 2005.

One of the authors was kayaking in the Cache River National Wildlife Refuge, Monroe County, Arkansas, o­n February 11, 2004, and reported o­n a website the sighting of an unusually large red-crested woodpecker. This report led to more intensive searches there and in the White River National Wildlife Refuge by experienced observers.  Seven further sightings occurred during the period, possibly all of the same bird.

The Ivory-billed Woodpecker is o­ne of the largest woodpeckers in the world. It measures between 18 to 20 in. (46?51 cm) in length, with short legs and feet ending in large, curved claws.

The bird is shiny blue-black with extensive white markings o­n its wings and neck. It can be identified by its pure white bill, which distinguishes it from the darker-billed Pileated Woodpecker, as well as by a prominent top crest, red in the male and black in the female. A true woodpecker, it has a strong and straight chisel-like bill and a long, mobile, hard-tipped, sticky tongue. 

( Information source: Open Source Wikipedia )

Looking for more information? 

http://www.ivorybill.org/video.html

Cornell Laboratory of Ornitholog