Woodpecker, thought extinct, sighted in US
The ivory-billed woodpecker, once prized for its plumage and sought by American Indians as magical, was thought to be extinct for years. Now it’s been sighted again, and conservationists are exulting.
The striking bird, last seen in 1944, has been rediscovered in the Big Woods area of Arkansas, US scientists and conservationists reported yesterday.
“This is thrilling beyond words … after 60 years of fading hope that we would ever see this spectacular bird again,” John Fitzpatrick, director of the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, said at a news conference.
Since early 2004 there have been several independent sightings, including one caught on videotape, of one or more of the birds, Fitzpatrick said.
That video of the bird’s three-foot wingspan and distinctive black-and-white markings confirmed the presence of the creature that seemed to have vanished after logging destroyed its habitat.
The discovery of living examples of an animal believed to be extinct is rare, said Tess Present, director of science at the National Audubon Society. “Wow,” she said. “This is tremendous.”
Interior Secretary Gale Norton said: “Second chances to save wildlife once thought to be extinct are rare. … We will take advantage of this opportunity.”
Norton and Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns promised millions of dollars in federal assistance to work with the state and local residents to protect this bird.
“Don’t love this bird to death,” Norton added, saying there has not been time to make plans for public access to view the bird.
Fitzpatrick’s report was released by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, which is publishing the study in the journal Science, and also announced by the Nature Conservancy.
The ivory-billed woodpecker, one of the largest such birds in the world, is one of six North American bird species thought to have become extinct since 1880. The bird ranged widely across the south-eastern US at one time.
Once sought by Indians who believed that its bill possessed magical powers, the bird also was hunted for its feathers so they could adorn women’s hats.
Fitzpatrick said it became known as the Lord God bird because people seeing it would exclaim “Lord God, look at that bird.”
