DMNS Diorama - Ivory-billed woodpecker

 

Ivory-billed woodpecker, by John James Audubon. 

Ivory-billed woodpeckers (Campephilus principalis) presumably are extinct. In this case, it's not local extinction, or gone from the wild but existing in captivity. Extinct means gone forever.

The species probably was never especially abundant, and the need for large home ranges meant it occupied vast forested areas which were logged or otherwise cleared.

Photo of live ivory-billed woodpeckers (Campephilus principalis) in Singer Tract, Louisiana, 1935.

Collectors were instrumental in removing the few remaining birds. As scarcity increased, so did demand, both commercially and in scientific circles. The race was on to collect the last few living woodpeckers.

One of many drawers of ivory-billed woodpeckers at the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology.

The Denver Museum of Nature and Science (DMNS) has its share, with some located in the Birds of North America wing of Standley Hall featuring endangered and extinct birds. Ivory-billed woodpeckers and Carolina parakeets (Conuropsis carolinensis) are the highlights in one diorama featuring Avery Island, Louisiana.

There's a well hidden American alligator (I assume) waiting for a meal, plus another painted in the background.

In the painted background, center right, there's a white bird. I assume this is a snowy egret (Egretta thula). Avery Island is the home of the McIlhenny Tabasco Sauce Company, and the McIlhenny family established the "Bird CIty" refuge to protect egrets and other wading birds.

There are a few ornithologists who believe ivory-billed woodpeckers have not gone extinct. Let's hope they are right. For me, I'd love to see this giant woodpecker in the wild.

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