Do videos show ivory-billed woodpecker, or is it extinct?

FILE - An ivory-billed woodpecker specimen is on a display at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, Sept. 24, 2021. The federal government has been asked to consider at least two videos made in recent years as evidence that ivory-billed woodpeckers may still exist. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said in July 2022, that it was looking for video or photos that all experts could agree showed the bird. (AP Photo/Haven Daley, File)


https://apnews.com/article/science-animals-wildlife-north-america-birds-de73ecb49a997b96201d8614d38f6f49

By JANET McCONNAUGHEY yesterday

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The federal government has been asked to consider at least two videos made in recent years as evidence that ivory-billed woodpeckers may still exist.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said in 2021 that it planned to declare 23 species extinct, including North America’s largest woodpecker — also dubbed the Lord God bird after an exclamation sometimes made by viewers.

In July, the agency said it was adding six months, including a month for public comment, before deciding whether to declare extinction for the black-bodied bird with black-and-white wings, a 30-inch (76-centimeter) wingspan and a call reminiscent of a bulb bicycle horn. What’s needed, the announcement said, was video or photos that all experts could agree showed the bird.

Two videos of black-and-white birds were submitted in July, along with extracts and extensive video presentations explaining why the contributors believe they show ivory-bills.

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