Ivory-Billed Woodpecker. John James Audubon Letters and Drawings, 1805-1892, MS Am 21 (31), Houghton Library, Harvard University
The last universally-accepted sighting of an Ivory-billed Woodpecker (Campephilus principalis, aka the “Lord God Bird” or the “Ghost Bird”) in the wild took place in 1944 near Tallulah, Louisiana, where a biologist named James Tanner had been documenting, recording, and photographing the beautiful, but elusive, species for several years. In the almost eighty years since, no verifiable sighting of an Ivory-bill has ever been confirmed, although enough potential sightings have been reported to keep the possibility of the Ivory-bill’s survival in remote, forested tracts across the southeast tantalizingly within reach. Despite these, in 2021 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed declaring the Ivory-billed Woodpecker extinct. But now, in a newly released paper, biologists working with Project Principalis, a long-running search for the Ivory-billed Woodpecker run by the National Aviary, appear to have gathered evidence to the contrary. Working over a nine-year period in a tract of bottomland hardwood forest in an undisclosed location in Louisiana, the team has recorded compelling evidence suggesting Ivory-bills’ presence in the area, documenting their observations with photographs, drone video, and physical signs of foraging activity. After so many years, could this be the conclusive evidence that, literally, pulls the Ivory-bill back from the brink of oblivion?
Photo courtesy of Mark Michaels, Project Principalis
From left to right, an apparent Ivory-billed Woodpecker from the study site; a colorized Ivory-billed Woodpecker photo taken in 1935; a Pale-billed Woodpecker from Central America; and an apparent Ivory-billed Woodpecker from the study site.
We reached out to Dr. Steven Latta, Director of Conservation and Field Research at the National Aviary and the study’s lead researcher, to find out.
Where are you, and Project Principalis, based?
Project Principalis's Louisiana-based search is supported by volunteers from around the country and operated since 2019 in partnership with the Pittsburgh-based National Aviary.
Why did the team at Project Principalis embark on this study?
The National Aviary and Project Principalis partnered on this initiative in 2019. I [brought] resources, new technologies, and connections within academia to a search that had been going on for several years. The National Aviary works with vulnerable species around the world, and as an iconic species of conservation concern, the Ivory-billed Woodpecker’s story is one that resonates with our mission.
At the outset, what was your/the team's feeling as to whether or not the species persisted?
Personally, I have always been optimistic that the Ivory-billed Woodpecker continued to survive in remote corners of bottomland forests of Louisiana and other southeastern states. I often find the stories of encounters with this woodpecker by hunters and local residents to be intriguing and believable. Other team members come into the search with an agnostic sense of the bird’s persistence, but with a commitment to help uncover the true status of the woodpecker.
How did you choose the specific tract in Louisiana?
Initially, we were following up on reports of sightings by local residents. Based on our own sightings, evidence of foraging signs on trees, and understanding of the bird’s habitat requirements based on the historical record, we gradually narrowed down our search area.
Understanding that the location of the tract needs to be kept from public view, can you reveal the general region of Louisiana in which it lies?
We are not disclosing the location of our search area in the interest of protecting the birds and the sensitive habitat they rely on.
Are there other tracts to which you would like to extend the study? If so, in which states?
Having found Ivory-bills in our search area in Louisiana, we believe they must survive in other locations. There is a rich history of sightings—around 200 in the USFWS Recovery Plan for the Ivory-billed Woodpecker—and those sightings should be revisited. We believe our methodology is transferrable to other sites and could yield results.
What will it take to have the bird pronounced as persisting by US Fish & Wildlife?
The threshold for evidence is high for documenting the existence of the Ivorybill and other species presumed to be extinct. We respect the decision of the USFWS to initiate the process for evaluating the status of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker under the Endangered Species Act. We keep them apprised of our findings. We continue to evaluate our evidence and collect more with the hope of finding incontrovertible evidence in the form of higher quality photographs, environmental DNA, or an active nest site.
If it is acknowledged to persist, what would happen then to the studied tract? And to other tracts where Ivory-bills might persist?
The recovery plan for Ivory-billed Woodpecker provides recommendations for evaluating and managing forest stands on public lands to promote habitat conditions for the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. It is important to point out that most areas where there is substantial evidence of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker presence have come from state lands, federally protected lands, or similar areas across the southeast, often where active forest management has been underway for many decades. For those lands under active forest management, management practices are available to maintain or even improve mature forest conditions, and are compatible with increasing the quantity and quality of habitat for the Ivory-billed Woodpeckers.
Is this the most thorough search for Ivory-bills yet carried out?
Yes. Our search has been carried out over the course of a decade using new and advanced technologies. The familiarity we’ve gained with our search area and our long-running search and methodology are unique and have allowed us to gather a substantial body of evidence.
Read the complete report at aviary.org/conservation/project-principalis.
