The ivory-billed woodpecker may not be extinct just yet

While some might believe that it has gone extinct throughout the decades, the Ivory-billed woodpecker may not be gone just yet, according to a recently published paper.

Researchers with Pittsburgh’s National Aviary write in their paper that they have over a decade of evidence showing that the bird is still in its native habitat in the southeastern part of the country.

The paper comes as U.S. officials considered whether or not to remove the bird from the endangered species list. Since 2021, the National Fish and Wildlife Service has been considering this action, which would instead have it be classified as extinct.

However, officials are waiting to make their decision.

The paper, published in the journal Ecology and Evolution, argues that the data presented by researchers is enough to keep the black, red, and white species on the endangered species list, effectively keeping them protected.

Steve Latta, the lead author of the report and the director of conservation and field research at the National Aviary, told WESA that they hope their research will stave off an extinct classification for the Ivory-billed woodpecker.

“Our hope is that in documenting the persistence of these birds — despite all the odds that they have faced — that we will inspire other people to care about not only the Ivory-billed [woodpecker], but all of the other species that rely on bottomland forests, and also the many other threatened and endangered species that require our attention,” Latta said.

Among the data that Latta and his team say they collected includes audio, video, and photographic evidence of the bird’s persistence after almost a century of critical endangerment.

The decline of the species began in the late 19th century, as the lumber industry began to boom and the habitats for the Ivory-billed woodpecker began to dwindle, the paper said. Researchers also shared that hunting and collecting of the birds played a role in their declining populations.

While researchers point to their data as evidence that the bird is still very much around, along with reported sightings in recent decades, the last universally accepted record of the American subspecies occurred in 1944.

“The standard of evidence for documenting rare birds, and especially for documenting that Ivory-billed woodpecker, has become quite high in the ornithological community,” Latta shared with WESA. “There’s been many reports — credible reports — by well-respected ornithologists. But those sightings are not verified, and so they’re not enough to meet these very high standards.”

With the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service holding off on making a decision, Latta says that it’s essential the Ivory-billed woodpecker remains on the endangered list so that it doesn’t lose the protections afforded to it under the Endangered Species Act.

“The [possible] removal of the Ivory-billed from the endangered species list should make us collectively redouble our efforts to save species and to protect their habitats,” he added.

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