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The Ivory-billedWoodpecker

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

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On February 11, 2004, kayaker

Gene Sparling caught a glimpse

of a large and majestic

woodpecker in the Cache River

National Wildlife Refuge of

Arkansas. The encounter

spurred an extensive scientific

search for a species that many

feared extinct. Additional

sightings and a video from the

search have shown that the

Ivory-billed Woodpecker — what

John James Audubon referred

to as the “great chieftain of the

woodpecker tribe” — has cheated

extinction and so given future

generations a chance to view

this majestic species.

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The Ivory-billed Woodpeckerresembles its more common, butslightly smaller cousin, the PileatedWoodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus).Often seen in suburban as well asmore forested settings, the PileatedWoodpecker averages 17 inches inlength, has black trailing edges onthe wings, a solid black back, and redand white on the face. By comparison,the Red-headed Woodpecker(Melanerpes erythrocephalus) is onlynine inches long. Adults have a solidred head without a crest, whileimmatures have a mottled gray head.

DescriptionAt 20 inches in length, the Ivory-billed Woodpecker (Campephilusprincipalis) is among the world’slargest woodpeckers. The wings showa white trailing edge from above andbelow. These white wing patches foldto form a white “shield” or “saddle”on the black back when the bird isperched. A white line forms belowthe eye, runs down the neck, and ontothe back of the bird. The face islargely black, as is the chin. Maleshave a prominent red crest; thefemale’s crest is black.

Red-headedWoodpecker

White trailingedge of wing

PileatedWoodpecker

Ivory-billedWoodpecker

Cover photo: USFWS/Larry Richardson;illustrations above:© David Allen Sibley

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Cache River National Wildlife RefugeUSFWS/Larry Richardson

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MaleIvory-billedWoodpecker

MalePileatedWoodpecker

Illustrations above:© David Allen Sibley

Life History and Reproductive Biology Knowledge about Ivory-billed Woodpeckers is limited becausethere have been few in-depth studiesof the species. Most of theinformation known about the speciescomes from a three-year studyconducted by James Tanner of apopulation of Ivory-billedWoodpeckers from what was knownas the Singer Tract in northeastLouisiana. Tanner found that theivory-bill is usually territorial, butwhen resources dictate it can benomadic. He estimated a home rangevarying from one pair per six squaremiles to one pair per seventeensquare miles. The ivory-bill needs amuch larger range as compared tothe Pileated Woodpecker (six pairsper one square mile) or Red-belliedWoodpecker (21 pairs per one squaremile). In poorer foraging habitat,Ivory-billed Woodpeckers’ homerange size may be even larger.

Most ornithologists who studied theIvory-billed Woodpecker, beginningwith Audubon and continuingthrough Tanner, believed that itmated for life. Ornithologists todayspeculate that the birds may livebetween 10 and 15 years.

It is thought that breeding is initiatedbetween January and April. A pairexcavates a cavity that is 15 to 70 feethigh in a dead tree or the dead portionof a live tree where fungus hassoftened the wood. A site under abroken limb may be favored for theprotection it offers from sun, rain andpredators. The nest entrance is oval,taller than wide, and larger than atypical Pileated Woodpecker’sentrance. The clutch size is two to foureggs and only one clutch is laid in ayear. Both sexes incubate the eggsand feed their young, which remainwith the parents through the summerand in some cases until the followingnesting season.

James Tanner’sphoto of an Ivory-billed Woodpeckerat the Singer Tract,Louisiana, 1935,Arthur A. Allen/courtesy of DavidAllen.

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VocalizationsThe call of the ivory-bill is a nasal-sounding kent – – often described assounding similar to the toot of a tinhorn. Ivory-bills are also known forthe unique double-knock they makewhen striking a tree with their beaks.Ornithologists believe this double-knock is used for family groups ormated pairs to keep in contact, forannouncing territorial boundaries toother ivory-bills in the vicinity, and tolocate a mate. Most woodpeckers inthe ivory-bill’s genus (Campephilus)make a similar double-knock.

The call of the ivory-bill wasoriginally recorded during the 1935Brand-Cornell University-AmericanMuseum of Natural HistoryOrnithological Expedition, organizedby Dr. Arthur Allen, founder of theCornell Lab of Ornithology. The 1935sounds and video of the ivory-billwere captured on the Singer Tract inLouisiana by Peter Paul Kellogg, whoused a movietone system. These 1935recordings are still used today forplayback by ivory-bill searchers.They are also the sounds againstwhich modern recordings of possiblekent calls are checked.

Today researchers are using devicescalled autonomous recording units(ARUs). The ARU, which wasinvented by the Cornell Lab ofOrnithology’s Bioacoustics ResearchProgram, includes a small hard drivethat is programmed to run at peaktimes of activity for ivory-bills.During the 2004–2005 search in theBig Woods of Arkansas, 24 ARUswere used to capture more than18,000 hours of sounds. Cornellresearchers believe that a number ofsounds captured on these Arkansasrecordings may be those of the ivory-bill.

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Diet and ForagingBehaviorIvory-bills arespecialists intheir feedinghabits and feedfrequently onbeetle larvaeassociated withrecently deadand dying trees.The birds usetheir chisel-likebills as wedges topry bark toobtain the beetlelarvae locatedunderneath. Theivory-bill seemsto prefermembers of thelong-hornedbeetle family,Cerambycidae,and other wood

boring beetle larvae. Birds mayrange widely in search of recentlydead trees that harbor these larvae.Various nuts (pecans) and fruits(hackberry, persimmon, and grapes)are part of the diet as well. Eventsthat kill large numbers of trees suchas hurricanes, ice storms, floods,drought, fires, disease and insectinfestations are believed to provideexcellent habitat for ivory-bills.

Historical Distribution and AbundanceIvory-bills once inhabited largeblocks of mature forests in thesoutheastern United States, fromNorth Carolina to Florida and westto eastern Texas and Arkansas. Theywere also known to inhabit old-growth pine forests in Cuba.Ornithologists believe the species wasnever abundant since populationswere limited by the availability ofdying and recently dead trees forforaging and trees large enough tosupport cavities for roosting andnesting.

Above: J.J. Kuhn(left) and PaulKellogg recordsounds of theIvory-billedWoodpecker at theSinger Tract inLouisiana duringthe 1935 Ornitho-logical Expeditionorganized byArthur A. Allen ofCornell, courtesyJames Tanner.

Below: RonRohrbaugh,director of theIvory-billedWoodpeckerResearch Project atCornell, puts up anautonomousrecording unit(ARU) in the BigWoods of Arkansas,Cornell Lab ofOrnithology/Melanie Driscoll.

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The ivory-bill’sprecipitous decline beganin the latter half of the19th century as forestswere cut to support agrowing demand for woodproducts and cleared forsettlement and agriculture.Technology and theresource demands of twoworld wars increased thelogging rate in the 20th

century, further decimatingessential habitat. Inaddition, excessivecollection of birds forcommercial, recreational,

scientific, and educational purposesalso contributed to declines as therange became restricted. By 1939,James Tanner estimated that 22–24birds remained in the United States.Only widely scattered, large remnantsof mature, seasonally flooded forestprovide the best potential for habitattoday. Recent decades ofreforestation and improved forestmanagement practices should providemore habitat as stands mature.

The Singer Tract and theDisappearance of the Ivory-billBy the 1920s, ornithologists believedthat only a few Ivory-billedWoodpeckers remained and that thespecies was headed for extinction.Rumors of a population along theTensas River in northeast Louisianaproved true when a Louisiana statelegislator shot one in 1932 on an80,000-acre tract owned by the

Timber harvestnear White RiverNational WildlifeRefuge inArkansas, 1940,USFWS.

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Singer SewingMachineCompany. Wordof this‘rediscovery’spread, givingornithologistshope that if theSinger Tractcould beprotected, thespecies mightsurvive.

Sponsored bythe NationalAudubon Society,James Tanner, adoctoral studentat CornellUniversity,conducted a

detailed study of the species’ biology,ecology, and distribution from 1937–1939. Tanner wrote the definitivebook on Ivory-billed Woodpeckersbased on his findings.

The same year Tanner began hisresearch, the Singer Company soldlogging rights on their property tothe Chicago Mill and LumberCompany. In 1938, logging began.Tanner believed that logging and theivory-bill could co-exist, and outlineda land management plan for theSinger Tract that would reserve someareas, selectively cut others, andclear cut others. He provided thisplan to Chicago Mill, but hisrecommendations were ignored.During his years at the Singer Tract,Tanner saw the population decline toonly six birds.

John Baker, president of the NationalAudubon Society, appealed toPresident Franklin Roosevelt, whodirected the Secretary of Interior totry to save the land. Baker secured a$200,000 pledge from LouisianaGovernor Sam Jones to purchase the

James Tanner onthe Singer Tract inthe 1930s. Photofrom Tanner’scollection.

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property. Jones, along with thegovernors of Tennessee, Mississippi,and Arkansas, wrote to Chicago Millasking them to conserve the habitatto save the bird. Despite theseefforts, the company refused tocooperate.

Running out of options, Baker sentNational Audubon Society’s RichardPough to the Singer Tract inDecember 1943 to search for anotherbird. At a place called John’s Bayou,Pough sighted what was until nowbelieved to be the last Ivory-billedWoodpecker in the United States.Artist Don Eckelberry, who alsoworked for the National AudubonSociety, visited the same spot in April1944 and drew one final sketch of thebird as logging crews devasted theforest near the bird’s roost tree.

Donald Eckelberry’spainting of what hasuntil now beenbelieved to be the lastIvory-billedWoodpecker in theUnited States.Eckelberry paintedthe bird flying acrossthe cutover forest ofthe Singer Tract inApril, 1944. CourtesyJerome A. Jackson.

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Above: a tree withbark and woodstripped. Below:expanded view ofwoodpecker billmarks found onbark-scaled tree inthe White RiverNational WildlifeRefuge. Possibleevidence of thepresence of theIvory-bill. BothUSFWS/SteveHolzman.

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Jackson County1986

Possible Encounters of Ivory-billed Woodpeckers1944 to present

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Since the ivory-bill’s lastconfirmed sighting in theUnited States at the SingerTract in 1944, there havebeen many unconfirmedreports of the bird. Datataken from “In Search of theIvory-billed Woodpecker”by Jerome A. Jackson andUSFWS files.

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Post 1940s sightingsThe last widely-accepted sightings ofthe birds in the United States werethose that took place at the SingerTract. However, there have beennumerous intriguing reports of ivory-bills since that time.

John Dennis was a prominentwoodpecker biologist who in 1948snapped the last scientificallyaccepted photographs ever taken ofan ivory-bill in Cuba. In 1966, Dennisreported seeing a female ivory-bill inThe Big Thicket of east Texas, buthis sighting could not be confirmedby subsequent searchers.

While other promising reports,including fleeting glimpses andpossible calls, have come from placeslike the Atchafalaya Basin inLouisiana, the Okefenokee Swamp inGeorgia, the Yazoo River inMississippi, the Pearl River inLouisiana and the Santee Basin inSouth Carolina, none of thesesightings have resulted in conclusivephysical evidence.

Tim Barksdale(BirdmanProductions) andMarc Dantzker(Cornell Lab ofOrnithology),videographers forthe ivory-billsearch team,Cornell Lab ofOrnithology,Elliott Swarthout.

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Rediscovery, 2004On February 11, 2004, kayaker GeneSparling observed a huge andunusual woodpecker in the CacheRiver National Wildlife Refuge ofArkansas. Tim Gallagher of CornellUniversity and Bobby Harrison ofOakwood College visited the swampwith Sparling two weeks later andhad a close-up sighting of presumablythe same bird. This was the first time

in more than 60 yearsthat two qualifiedobservers together hadidentified an Ivory-billedWoodpecker in theUnited States. Thesesightings spurred anextensive scientificsearch, launched inMarch 2004 by the BigWoods ConservationPartnership whichincludes the Cornell Lab

of Ornithology, The NatureConservancy, Arkansas Game andFish Commission and the U.S. Fishand Wildlife Service.

The search team included more than100 individuals who spent up to 14hours a day in canoes looking for thebird in the swampy bayous of easternArkansas. The team’s work wasfocused at Cache River and WhiteRiver Refuges and nearby wildlifemanagement areas managed by theArkansas Game and Fish Commission.

This initial five-month search seasonresulted in at least seven crediblesightings of an Ivory-billedWoodpecker, and a brief video filmedby David Luneau of the University ofArkansas at Little Rock. Afterextensive analysis, the video wasdetermined to be an ivory-bill. Morethan 18,000 hours of audio recordingsduring the combined 2004 and 2005search periods also captured whatresearchers believe is the ‘double-knock’ and kent call of the ivory-bill.

Bobby Harrisonsearches for Ivory-billed Woodpeckersin the Cache RiverNational WildlifeRefuge. He andcolleague TimGallagheridentified anivory-bill there onFebruary 27, 2004.The NatureConservancy/Mark Godfrey.

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From Discovery to RecoveryAlthough the ivory-bill was listed asan endangered species in 1967, it wasthe rediscovery in 2004 in the BigWoods of Arkansas that promptedthe formation of a federal recoveryteam. The purpose of the recoveryteam is to prepare a comprehensiverecovery plan for the species, advisestakeholders on conservation actions,and assist with implementingrecovery actions. The recovery planis the document that summarizeseverything that is known about thebiology, ecology, and distribution ofthe species. It also describes theconditions necessary for removingthe bird from the endangered specieslist, outlines recovery actions, andidentifies research needs. Muchabout the species remains to bediscovered, including the currentpopulation status and distribution.Therefore, an effective searchstrategy is another component of theplan. The recovery plan is scheduledto be completed by June 2007.

Habitat Managementand ConservationDegradation and loss of habitat led tothe rapid decline of the Ivory-billedWoodpecker. Conservation andmanagement of adequate habitat willbe key to the bird’s recovery. Qualityhabitat includes both upland andlowland sites with very extensive,continuous, multi-species, unevenaged forest cover. Quality foresthabitat would include large trees anda continuous supply of stressed anddying trees.

Forest management practices onfederal and state lands areundergoing review and revision toenhance habitat for the species.Federal cost-share programs, such asthe USDA Farm Service Agency’sConservation Reserve andEnhancement Program and theNatural Resource Conservation

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Service’s Wetlands ReserveProgram, are available for privatelandowners in priority areas whowish to provide habitat on theirproperty. Allowing dying and deadtrees to remain standing isencouraged to provide foraging,nesting and roosting habitat.

Federal LandAcquisitionand the DuckStampAs part of therecoverystrategy, theU.S. Fish andWildlife Servicemay also acquireadditional landsfrom willing

sellers using funds from a number ofprograms. One key acquisitionprogram is the Federal MigratoryBird Hunting and ConservationStamp program, commonly known as“Duck Stamp.” This $15 stamp is oneof the most successful conservationprograms in the country, investing98% of funds generated into landconservation. While all waterfowlhunters age 16 and older are

Sara Barker andElliott Swarthoutof the Cornell Labof Ornithologymap out theirsearch for the bird,Cornell Lab ofOrnithology/KenRosenberg.

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required to purchase and carry DuckStamps, anyone can purchase one toinvest in conservation. Since itsinception in 1934, the sale of FederalDuck Stamps has generated morethan $670 million, resulting in thepurchase or lease of over 5.2 millionacres of waterfowl habitat in the U.S.In fact, more than 44,000 acres atCache River National WildlifeRefuge were purchased usingFederal Duck Stamp funding.

Conserving Arkansas’ Big WoodsWhile the Ivory-billed WoodpeckerRecovery Team will examine theneeds of the species throughout itshistoric range, much of the initialconservation and recovery focus willbe centered on the Big Woods ofArkansas.

Long before the Ivory-billedWoodpecker was rediscovered in theBig Woods of Arkansas, conservationagencies, non-profit organizationsand private landowners have workedtogether to protect this ecosystem.Partnerships among The NatureConservancy, U.S. Fish and WildlifeService, Arkansas Game and FishCommission, Arkansas NaturalHeritage Commission, Bureau ofLand Management, U.S. Army Corpsof Engineers, Potlatch Corporation,legislators and private individuals led

Scott Simon (right),The NatureConservancy’sArkansas StateDirector, andnaturalist filmmakerTimothy R.Barksdale search forIvory-billedWoodpeckers in theCache RiverNational WildlifeRefuge, The NatureConservancy/MarkGodfrey.

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to protection, acquisition, andenhancement of hundreds ofthousands of acres over the last 20years. At 550,000 acres, the BigWoods of Arkansas is the largestcorridor of bottomland hardwoodforest remaining in the MississippiDelta north of the Atchafalaya River.

In 1989, Cache River and WhiteRiver National Wildlife Refuges andall Arkansas Game and FishCommission Wildlife ManagementAreas located in the lower White andCache River basins were recognizedby the 49 nations of the UnitedNations’ Ramsar Convention as a“Wetland of InternationalImportance.” These lands joined theranks of other internationallyrenowned ecosystems worthy ofprotection such as the OkefenokeeSwamp, the Florida Keys, and theChesapeake Bay. The Cache-LowerWhite Rivers area is also recognizedas an “Important Bird Area” by theNational Audubon Society.

Two recent partnerships will helpconserve the Arkansas Big Woods forfuture generations. The Big WoodsConservation Partnership wasofficially formed on April 7, 2004. Thepartnership is working to restore orconserve 200,000 additional acres offorest habitat and rivers in the BigWoods over the next 10 years.

Another group working to conservethis area is the Corridor of HopeConservation Team. Through publicand private partnerships, theCorridor of Hope Conservation Teamwill develop and implementconservation plans for the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. The Team advisesthe recovery team and helps withoutreach to local communities toensure a collaborative process.Members of the team are civicleaders, decision makers, electedofficials and other local stakeholders.

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White River National Wildlife RefugeUSFWS/Larry Richardson

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Historic Time Line for Ivory-billed Woodpeckers

1820 Naturalist John James Audubon collects Ivory-billed Woodpeckers along the Ohio, Arkansas andMississippi Rivers.

1870s Laws protecting much of the southern forests aredropped and forests cut to meet demand for woodproducts. Much remaining Ivory-billedWoodpecker habitat is purchased and cleared foragriculture and land settlement.

1906 President Theodore Roosevelt, on a hunting trip tonortheastern Louisiana, sees three ivory-bills.

1924 Arthur A. Allen, founder of the Cornell Laboratoryof Ornithology, discovers a pair in Florida. Even atthis early date, many ornithologists had alreadyconsidered the species to be extinct. Tragically, twolocal taxidermists hear of Allen’s discovery andshoot both birds — legally.

1935 A team from the Laboratory of Ornithology,including Arthur A. Allen, Peter Paul Kellogg,George Miksch Sutton, and James T. Tanner,locates three woodpecker nests in the Singer Tract,Louisiana. They produce the first motion picturesand sound recordings ever obtained of the species.

1935 White River National Wildlife Refuge isestablished on 113,000 acres in eastern Arkansas.

1937 James Tanner conducts field work in theSoutheastern United States over a three-yearperiod foccusing on the Singer Tract. He collectsinformation for his doctoral dissertation, which ispublished by the National Audubon Society. Heestimates that only 22 ivory-bills exist in theUnited States.

1941 National Audubon Society launches a campaign topreserve the Singer Tract.

1944 National Audubon Society sends artist DonEckelberry to the Singer Tract to sketch anddocument the last confirmed Ivory-billedWoodpecker in the U.S.

1966 Texas birdwatchers Olga Hooks Lloyd and JohnDennis report seeing an Ivory-billed Woodpeckerin the Big Thicket area of east Texas.

1967 The Ivory-billed Woodpecker is added to theendangered species list.

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Historic Time Line for Ivory-billed Woodpeckers

1968 James Tanner spends two weeks searching in theBig Thicket but finds no evidence of the birds.

1972 The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers begins work onthe Cache River Drainage Project, which wouldhave channelized 232 miles of the river. BayouDeView, where the 2004-2005 Ivory-billedWoodpecker sightings have been concentrated,would have been drained. Rex Hancock, aStuttgart, Arkansas dentist, helps organize theCitizens Committee to Save the Cache.

1978 After Hancock’s six-year effort, federal funding forthe Cache River Drainage Project ends.

1980 Tensas River National Wildlife Refuge isestablished on the former Singer Tract — 40 yearstoo late to save the Ivory-billed Woodpecker here.

1986 The Cache River National Wildlife Refuge isestablished when the U.S. Fish and WildlifeService purchases 1,395 acres of land from TheNature Conservancy with $646,000 in FederalDuck Stamp funding. The refuge was establishedby legislation supported by Senators DaleBumpers and David Pryor.

1989 The Cache River and White River NationalWildlife Refuges, and Arkansas Game and FishCommission WMAs located in the Cache River andlower White River basins are designated as“Wetlands of International Importance” by theRamsar Convention of the United Nations.

1992 A massive land exchange of 41,000 acres isorchestrated by The Nature Conservancy, SenatorBumpers, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, theBureau of Land Management and the PotlatchCorporation (which owned the land) to create aprotected corridor connecting the Cache RiverNational Wildlife Refuge with the White RiverNational Wildlife Refuge. The land exchange,valued at more than $20 million, is accomplished atvirtually no cost to the taxpayer.

1996 With support from The Nature Conservancy andstate agencies, Arkansas voters approve a 1/8th ofone percent sales tax to be used by the ArkansasGame and Fish Commission and the ArkansasNatural Heritage Commission to purchase andprotect lands in the Arkansas Delta and elsewhere.

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Ivory-billed Woodpecker Websites:http://www.fws.gov/ivorybillInformation on the recovery of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker

http://www.agfc.com/ivorybilledArkansas Game and Fish Commission

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/ivorySearch updates and online sightings form

http://nature.org/ivorybillThe Nature Conservancy

http://www.ivorybill.orgThe Big Woods Partnership

http://www.audubon.orgThe National Audubon Society

Special thanks to Dr. Dan Scheiman, Audubon Arkansas.

Historic Time Line for Ivory-billed Woodpeckers

1999 David Kulivan, a forestry student at LouisianaState University, reports seeing a pair of Ivory-billed Woodpeckers in the Pearl River region ofLouisiana. The sighting leads to renewed efforts tofind the bird.

2002 An expedition is launched in the Pearl Riverregion, but no birds are found. Although the searchteam does find large tree cavities and peeled barkon trees, suggesting the possible presence of Ivory-billed Woodpeckers in the area, there are nodefinite sightings.

2004 Gene Sparling of Hot Springs, Arkansas, spots anIvory-billed Woodpecker while kayaking throughthe Cache River National Wildlife Refuge. Whenconfirmed by a subsequent sighting by BobbyHarrison of Oakwood College and Tim Gallagher ofthe Cornell Lab of Ornithology, a search islaunched, resulting in numerous eyewitnessaccounts as well as video evidence, filmed by DavidLuneau, showing that the species still lives. TheBig Woods Conservation Partnership is formed.

2005 A federal endangered species recovery team isformed. The search in Arkansas continues as acollaborative effort by the Cornell Lab ofOrnithology, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, TheNature Conservancy, Arkansas Game and FishCommission, Audubon Arkansas, ArkansasNatural Heritage Commission, and other partners.

24December 2005