Ivory-billed woodpecker Picus principals

Once I was in Charlotte North Carolina for three months. I became very interested in the Ivory-billed woodpecker Picus principalsis possibly already extinct. 

The bird is about 20 inches, this is one of the largest woodpeckers in the world. The bird historically inhabited the ancient forests and swamps of Cuba and southern part of the United States: eastern Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, southeastern Missouri, southern Illinois, western Kentucky, Tennessee, Louisiana, Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and the Carolinas. The species preferred riparian corridors along rivers but did also occur in pine woodlands, if only to feed.

There is not a specific reason why the species has become nearly instinct, but several factors have contributed to the species’ problems.

~    In general, people had a misconception about swamps. For example, they thought that swamps were filled with poisonous snakes and disease-carrying insects, that humidity and heat were too oppressive for humans.

~    Surrounding the swamps, the forestry industry obtained valuable trees: Sweetgum (Liquidambar stryractiflua), Bald cypress (Taxodium distichum), and various oaks (Quercus sp.) People cut not only these trees but also demolished the entire environment.

~    Early forestry practices encouraged ridding forests, woodlands, and swamps of useless or unproductive species, especially of dead, sick, or damaged trees. It was believed that such trees would merely encourage insects and disease that would, in turn, infect healthy trees if left standing.

~    A large insect-eating bird with a socialized feeding technique needs a lot of space. A pair of ivory-billed woodpeckers, for example, needed three square miles or even more to meet its needs. Destroying the swamps began taking the birds habitat away.

~    In the heyday of museum collecting, specimens were to be taken at all cost. Rarity or the possibility of extinction only made the last specimens all the more valuable.

A small population survived in Cuba. In 1986 a group of ornithologists searching portions of eastern Cuba found three ivory-bills. The Cuba government responded immediately with appropriate protective measures.

Alexander Wilson, 1766-1813, the author of the first American ornithology which was illustrated with plates, engraved and colored from original drawings taken from nature. Wilson describes ivory-billed woodpecker, “This majestic and formidable species, in strength and magnitude, stands at the head of the whole class of Woodpecker hitherto discovered. He may be called the king or child of his tribe; and nature seems to have designed him a distinguished characteristic in the superb carmine crest.”

In the swamps of North Carolina, Wilson captures a member of this species, and decides to keep it alive to use as a model for his drawing. The bird is inconsolable, however, and its screams in captivity “exactly resemble the violence crying of a young child.” Carrying his miniature captive “under cover,” Wilson soon arrives at Wilmington, North Carolina. As he enters town, the bird’s “affecting cries surprised everyone within hearing particularly the females, who hurried to the doors and windows with looks of alarm and anxiety” (Ornithology, Jardian, 2:13). When Wilson arrives at his “hotel,” the landlord, “alarmed at what he heard, asked whether he could furnish me with accommodations for myself and my baby.” The American ornithologist quickly relieves everyone’s anxiety: he produces his “baby,” withdrawing the bird “from under the cover,” while “a general laugh (takes) place.” But the ivory-billed woodpecker himself comes to a less-than-humorous end. Left in Wilson’s hotel room, the woodpecker wreaks havoc, breaking a fifteen-inch hole through the wall, covering the bed with plaster and nearly escaping. Wilson tries tying the bird to a mahogany table—upon which it likewise “wreaked his whole vengeance,” nearly destroying it. While he was making drawings of the woodpecker, Wilson reports, the bird “cut me severely in several places” and “displayed such a noble and unconquerable sprit that I was frequently tempted to restore him to his native woods…He lived with me nearly three days, but refused all sustenance, and I witnesses his death with regret” (Ornithology, Jardine, 2:14).

Wilson ends the story like this, “I kept the bird for two days, but he seemed to be refusing all sustenance. I did not want to witness this honorable wild creature’s death. I decided to bring him back to the place where I caught him. When I arrived at the swamp, I took the cloth out from the cage. The Ivory-billed Woodpecker looked very exhausted. He kept his beak open since I caught him. His feathers became shabby and his crest was ruffled up. I put the cage on the ground, and opened the door. He slowly came out, but didn’t fly immediately.  I felt silence for few seconds. I didn’t finish the drawing of him, but I was satisfied by being with this majestic bird for the last two days. I remember how he screamed in the hotel, I still could hear him in my memory. The battle between the bird and I were unbelievable, when he tried to escape. He would hurt me badly with his beak. I have never encountered a bird which gives me danger, thrill and admiration of its beauty at the same time. I experienced difference between wild creatures and human. The Ivory-billed woodpecker belongs to the swamp environment, but we humans have fear and superstitious ideas about the place. We can not survive from heat, humidity, poisonous snakes and disease-carrying insects in there. The place is the ivory-billed woodpecker’s home, that is why he is so strong, or may be the place that gives the bird such a strength. I heartily feel nobody has right to sway him. I am very glad I am releasing him. I noticed the bird looked at me once again, then flew and disappeared between the bald cypress branches. “

Reiko Goto