One of the 7 woodpeckers on WAnimals
Birds · Piciformes · Picidae
Ivory-billed Woodpecker
Campephilus principalis
It faces an extremely high risk of imminent extinction in the wild. See full glossary
One of the largest woodpeckers in the world and the largest there ever was in the United States. Intense black-and-white plumage, with an ivory-coloured bill, from which its name comes, and a red crest in the males. Audubon called it "the great chieftain of the Woodpecker tribe".
Weight
450 g – 570 g
Size
48 cm – 53 cm
Diet
Insectivore
Feeds mainly on insects and other invertebrates.
Activity
Diurnal
Active mainly during the day.
Social structure
In pairs
Usually lives in pairs, sometimes for life.
Sighting difficulty
Very hard
Estimated population
No confirmed population
Fun facts
- The mass deforestation of the southern United States after the Civil War broke its habitat into isolated islands and precipitated its disappearance.
- Despite the lack of conclusive evidence, a study published in Heliyon argues for protecting its priority habitat in Florida and Louisiana in case it survives.
- Its genus, Campephilus, means "lover of caterpillars", after its diet of beetle grubs.
Life cycle & biology
- Skeleton type
- Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)
- Habitat & environment
- Mature hardwood floodplain forest, including dense swamps, and temperate conifer forest with plenty of dead or diseased trees. Before the American Civil War it ranged from eastern Texas to North Carolina and from southern Illinois to Florida, as well as Cuba
Sources consulted: IUCN Red List; Servicio de Pesca y Vida Silvestre de Estados Unidos (propuesta de declaración de extinción, 2021); SEO/BirdLife; Benz, Robbins y Peterson 2006, Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 40; Fleischer et al.; Linnaeus 1758
Where to find it
See its range on the interactive mapBest time: No unanimously accepted sightings since 1944 in the United States and 1987 in Cuba
Related species
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Ivory-billed Woodpecker — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
Fernandina's Flicker
Colaptes fernandinae
Pileated Woodpecker
Dryocopus pileatus
Northern Flicker
Colaptes auratus
Acorn Woodpecker
Melanerpes formicivorus
Gila Woodpecker
Melanerpes uropygialis
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker
Dryobates minor
How to help
The ivory-billed woodpecker is classified as critically endangered. Organizations such as UICN, WWF y Wildlife Conservation Society work specifically on its conservation and that of its habitat; looking into their programs is a good starting point if you want to get involved.
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Based on what we already know about ivory-billed woodpecker.
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