Critter Geek

Here’s the original article from the scientists who have found evidence for the existence of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker in a Florida swamp. From the abstract of the paper, “During a subsequent year of research, members of our small search team observed birds that we identified as Ivory-billed Woodpeckers on 14 occasions. We heard sounds that matched descriptions of Ivory-billed Woodpecker acoustic signals on 41 occasions. We recorded 99 putative double knocks and 210 putative kent calls. We located cavities in the size range reported for Ivory-billed Woodpeckers and larger than those of Pileated Woodpeckers (Dryocopus pileatus) that have been reported in the literature or that we measured in Alabama. We documented unique foraging signs consistent with the feeding behavior of Ivory-billed Woodpeckers. Our evidence suggests that Ivory-billed Woodpeckers may be present in the forests along the Choctawhatchee River and warrants an expanded search of this bottomland forest habitat.”

The journal publishing the article, Avian Conservation and Ecology, also published an editorial related to their decision to publish the findings despite the lack of direct physical evidence.

I’m excited by these results. If ornithologists have visually identified a bird on fourteen occasions, that sounds pretty good. A good birder is usually happy to record an observation as “unidentified” if they aren’t sure, and these are expert birders.

There’s also a good article, Ivory-bill Evidence Reported from Florida, from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in their extensive section on the search for the Ivory-billed Woodpecker.

One thing is for certain: whether or not the Ivory-billed is still with us, it will be interesting to see what the discussions are among the ornithologist community. Because it’s so publicized, we get a glimpse into how science happens, and how theories are accepted or rejected.