Possibilities or Not ? of a Juv. Ivory Billed Woodpecker

Unfortunately, these birds will remain unidentified.

Posted today on TWET

Date: Sat, 21 Nov 2009 09:25:14 -0800

This drawing of a Ivory billed woodpecker...
http://www.birdlife.org/images/sized/200/ivory-billed_woodpecker.jpg.jpg


is the same overall shape of my unidentified woodpeckers that flew in this
summer in July.  The colors are off and I cannot gauge a size comparison to
my birds from the drawing. It would be exciting to see one or two - but I
cannot determine.

Previous post on un-identified woodpeckers:
A pair of unknown woodpeckers taking a drink
*Tue Jul 28 15:56:25 PDT 2009*
https://mailman2.u.washington.edu/mailman/htdig/tweeters/2009-July/072131.html

Not a pair of Kingfishers.
Not a pair of Green Herons.

The overall shape=matches, shape and size of beak or bill=matches, head
crest=matches, neck size and shape=matches, and tail feathers size and
shape=matches.

*The colors are totally wrong.*

I'm going to keep exploring until I can find a match.  This one is the
closest I've come so far and it is just too incredible, but exciting to see
a close match. Learning all the while..... :)

Cornell has listed these "Cool Facts"

Cool Facts

• The Cuban form of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker was considered a separate species at one time. It closely resembled the bird from the United States, but it had a slightly smaller bill and the white neck stripes extended farther onto the face. It suffered the same fate as the mainland form, disappearing as the mature forests were destroyed. The last confirmed sighting was made in 1986. Some may still persist in southeastern Cuba, but it may be extinct.
• The Ivory-billed Woodpecker is very similar to the larger and very closely related Imperial Woodpecker of Mexico. The Imperial Woodpecker, the largest woodpecker in the world, lacked the white neck stripes and had a longer, thinner crest. It was a bird of mature pine forests, and also is likely extinct.
• Bills of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker were used as decorations by native Americans and a thriving trade in them existed across much of North America. The presence of Ivory-billed Woodpecker skulls in excavations of archaeological sites outside of the known range of the woodpecker show the extent of the trade and not an ancient range for the species.
• The Cornell Lab of Ornithology was involved in an attempt to relocate the Ivory-billed Woodpecker in Louisiana in 2002. Go here for details of that search and more information on Ivory-billed Woodpeckers. No ivory-bills were found, and a potential double-knock was determined to be gunshots. Read a report of the expedition published in BirdScope The story of the successful hunt for the species in Arkansas in 2004 and 2005 can be found here.

Measurements

Both Sexes

Length

18.1–20.1 in 46–51 cm

Wingspan

29.9–31.5 in 76–80 cm

Weight

15.9–20.1 oz 450–570 g

Other Names

• Le pic noir a bec blanc (French)
• El carpintero real (Spanish) 

Still reading further at Cornell I have found that the juvenille Ivory billed Woodpecker:

Immature Description

Juvenile similar to adult, but has shorter crest, browner plumage, and brown eyes. [THAT FITS !]

Cornell even indicates that the Pileated closely matches the description of the Ivory Billed. I am dumbfounded at the possibility. And will certainly have to investigate further....knowing that the Ivory billed is out of range, of course.

Previous post  - Are there variations in Pileated woodpecker? Tue Jul 28 18:49:16 PDT 2009

Cornell also states that the historical range of the Ivory billed woodpecker DOES NOT include Washington.

• Approximate boundary of the early historical range of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker in the United States and Cuba. Adapted from Tanner 1942 and Jackson 2004. Source: The Birds of North America Online.

If your sighting is not within one of these states, you probably saw a Pileated Woodpecker. For more information about the Pileated Woodpecker, please visit the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Online Bird Guide

• Alabama
• Arkansas
• Florida
• Georgia
• Illinois     
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Mississippi
• Missouri
• North Carolina
• Oklahoma
• South Carolina
• Tennessee
• Texas

I have a question about the historical range of a bird that was once labeled as "extinct" and "endangered"? I'm missing much information here on what the Ivory billed woodpeckers historical range entails, how this birds historical range was determined, and what methods or thought processes are formed in maintaining this "historical range" from 1942 and 2004 or throughout (1942 to 2004?) for an extinct or rarely sighted bird?. The USFW and Cornell website does not have enough information for me. The idea that there was an Ivory billed woodpecker seen in Arkansas has been viewed as "sketchy", "incredulous", etc.

What I witnessed did not fit a color description of an adult Pileated Woodpecker or a juvenile. The dark red/orange breast coloring (all the way up the neck front), does not fit a Pileated Woodpecker's description juvenile or adult. Their neck was longer, their crest not as pointed, their crest were grey/black,  and the birds were LARGER than that of a Pileated. Unfortunately, these birds will remain unidentified.

USFW descriptions

 See also Cormorants! Double Crested and Pelagic!

And "Cormarants are not woodpeckers".