The Ivory-billed woodpecker (Campephilus principalis) is a very rare member of the woodpecker family and is one of the largest woodpeckers in the world. The last universally accepted sighting of an American ivory-billed woodpecker occurred in Louisiana in 1944. In September 2021, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed that the species be declared extinct.
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DiurnalDiurnal animals are active during the daytime, with a period of sleeping or other inactivity at night. The timing of activity by an animal depends ...
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OmnivoreAn omnivore is an animal that has the ability to eat and survive on both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and ani...
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ArborealArboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some anima...
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AltricialAltricial animals are those species whose newly hatched or born young are relatively immobile. They lack hair or down, are not able to obtain food ...
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NomadicNomadic animals regularly move to and from the same areas within a well-defined range. Most animals travel in groups in search of better territorie...
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ScansorialScansorial animals are those that are adapted to or specialized for climbing. Many animals climb not only in tress but also in other habitats, such...
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
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OviparousOviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
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MonogamyMonogamy is a form of relationship in which both the male and the female has only one partner. This pair may cohabitate in an area or territory for...
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Generally solitaryGenerally solitary animals are those animals that spend their time separately but will gather at foraging areas or sleep in the same location or sh...
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Not a migrantAnimals that do not make seasonal movements and stay in their native home ranges all year round are called not migrants or residents.
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starts withThe plumage of the Ivory-billed woodpecker is predominated by a shiny black or purple tint. There are white lines extending from the cheeks down the neck, meeting on the back. The ends of the inner primary feathers are white, as well as the whole of the outer secondary feathers. This creates extensive white on the trailing edge of both the upper- and underwing. The underwing also is white along its forward edge, resulting in a black line running along the middle of the underwing, expanding to more extensive black at the wingtip. Some birds have been recorded with more extensive amounts of white on the primary feathers. Ivory-billed woodpeckers have a prominent crest, although it is ragged in juveniles. The crest is black along its forward edge, changing abruptly to red on the side and rear in males, but solid black in females, as well as in juvenile males. When perched with the wings folded, birds of both genders present a large patch of white on the lower back, roughly triangular in shape. Like all woodpeckers, the Ivory-billed woodpecker has a strong and straight bill and a long, mobile, hard-tipped, barbed tongue. In adults, the bill is ivory in color, while it is chalky white in juveniles. Among North American woodpeckers, the Ivory-billed woodpecker is unique in having a bill whose tip is quite flattened laterally, shaped much like a beveled wood chisel. Its flight is strong and direct and has been likened to that of a duck.
Ivory-billed woodpeckers are found in the Southeastern United States and Cuba. They prefer thick hardwood swamps and pine forests, with large numbers of dead and decaying trees.
Ivory-billed woodpeckers are diurnal birds, spending their nights in individual roost holes, which are often reused. The birds typically leave their roost holes around dawn, feeding and engaging in other activities in the early morning. They are generally inactive during the mid-day and resume feeding activities in the late afternoon before returning to the roosts around dusk. To hunt some prey items such as woodboring grubs, Ivory-bills use their enormous bill to hammer, wedge, and peel the bark off dead trees to access their tunnels. For these grubs, Ivory-bills have no real competitors; no other species present in their range are able to remove tightly bound bark as Ivory-billed woodpeckers do. These birds need about 25 km2 (9.7 sq mi) per pair to find enough food to feed their young and themselves. Ivory-billed woodpeckers are social and not territorial; they don't protect their territories from other Ivory-bills when encountering one another. Indeed, in many instances, Ivory-billed woodpeckers may gather in groups of 4 or 5 birds feeding together on a single tree, and as many as 11 have been observed feeding in the same location. Although not migratory, Ivory-billed woodpeckers may relocate from time to time to areas where disasters such as fires or floods have created large amounts of dead wood, and subsequently large numbers of beetle larvae upon which they prefer to feed. Ivory-bills communicate with four fairly distinct calls. The most common, a 'kent' or' hant', sounds like a toy trumpet often repeated in a series. When the birds are disturbed, the pitch of the 'kent' note rises, it is repeated more frequently, and it is often doubled. A conversational call is given between individuals at the nest and has been described as 'kent-kent-kent'. The drum of Ivory-billed woodpeckers is a single or double rap.
Ivory-billed woodpeckers are omnivores. Their preferred food is beetle larvae but they also eat the fruit of the southern magnolia, pecans, acorns, hickory nuts, and poison ivy seeds. They have also been observed to feed on wild grapes, persimmons, and hackberries.
Ivory-billed woodpeckers are monogamous and are thought to mate for life. Pairs are also known to travel together. They breed between January and May. Both parents work together to excavate a cavity in a tree about 15-70 feet (4.6-21.3 m) from the ground before they have their young. Eggs are typically laid in April or May. The clutch consists of 3 to 6 glossy, china-white eggs. Parents incubate the eggs for 3 to 5 weeks; the male incubates overnight, and the two birds typically exchange places every two hours during the day, with one foraging and one incubating. Once the young hatch, both parents forage to bring food to them. The chicks learn to fly about 7 to 8 weeks after hatching and their parents continue feeding them for another 2 months. The family eventually splits up in late fall or early winter.
Heavy logging activity exacerbated by hunting by collectors devastated the population of Ivory-billed woodpeckers in the late 19th century. They were generally considered extremely rare, and some ornithologists believed them extinct by the 1920s. These factors most probably threaten the remaining population of the species at present.
According to the IUCN Red List, the total Ivory-billed woodpecker population size is fewer than 50 individuals and mature individuals. Currently, this species is classified as Critically Endangered (CR) on the IUCN Red List, and its numbers today are decreasing.
Social animals are those animals that interact highly with other animals, usually of their own species (conspecifics), to the point of having a rec...