PASSENGER PIGEON Status =Extinct           Â
Last sighting was in captivity in 1914 in the Cincinnati Zoo.
Biological Name: Ectopistes migratorius Biological Family: Columbiformes.
The last passenger pigeon was on display in the Smithsonian Museum.
They named her Martha.
I saw her. I wept.
The last time the passenger pigeon was reported in the wild was in 1900 in Ohio.Â
 Now that makes ME feel like I was robbed. Â
What is the Closest Relative to the Passenger Pigeon?
Believe it or not, the mourning dove, Zenaidura macroura, is the closest relative of the passenger pigeon.
How often I have seen this unassuming and often stupid bird without a single thought of those that flew before them.
Yes, Mourning Doves tend to act like they have no brains. Perhaps the passenger pigeons were no more quick witted then they were.
I have observed morning doves being tricked by a roadrunner who captured and ate one of them (they were desert rock doves)
at a watering hole when pretending (literally PRETENDING) to drink. The roadrunner never took its eyes off the doves and NEVER
touched the water with its bill.
There were 5 doves and in a wink there were 4 with a flurry of feathers and a
racing roadrunner carrying the now dead dove away from the water.
The other doves glanced around and returned to drinking.
 I wondered if they even noticed the other one was missing.
Did they see the floating feathers and know it was from their flock?
Don’t know. But if Passenger Pigeons were as bright as these doves,
it is no wonder that people could easily take advantage of them.
Homing and racing pigeons must be a LOT more intelligent than passenger pigeons were.
Natural History: At one time the passenger pigeon was probably one of the most numerous birds in
North America. We are talking about BILLIONS of birds. Colonial explorers spoke of seeing endless numbers of birds
in flight during migrations. Even Cotton Mather described a flight that was about a mile wide and it lasted several hours flying over him.
The abundance of the passenger pigeon may well have been the cause of its demise.Â
People took advantage of their numbers and failed to look at issues of conservation until it was too late.
Habitat: Passenger pigeon migrations ranged from central Ontario, Quebec
and Nova Scotia south to the uplands of Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida.
Nesting areas in the Great Lakes region were common.
According to colonial naturalists:
“The habitat of the passenger pigeon was mixed hardwood forests.
The birds depended on the huge forests for their spring nesting sites,
for winter “roosts,” and for food. The mainstays of the passenger pigeon’s diet
were beechnuts, acorns, chestnuts, seeds, and berries found in the forests.
 Worms and insects supplemented the diet in spring and summer.”
One significant result of the extinction of the passenger pigeon was
that it aroused public interest in the need for strong conservation laws.
It was the result of those laws that many other migratory birds have become protected. Â
© bydpb 2007
Ivory-Billed Woodpecker
The SHORT STORY about Ivory Billed Woodpeckers
Once upon a time there were many Ivory-billed Woodpeckers in the southern swamps. And then there were nearly none.
And then it seemed there were NONE.
For many years no one actually saw one of these Ivory-billed Woodpeckers and people believed they were extinct- Since 1944.Â
The Last Official “sightings” were in Louisiana in 1944, in Florida in the 1950’s, in Texas during the 1960’s.  Overall, birding specialists believed they had become EXTINCT. In the United States.
Then someone reported seeing one in 1970 and another possible sighting was in 1990, both in Louisiana.
And THEN it Happened In February, 2004 the Ivory-billed Woodpecker was sighted in Arkansas by Gene Sparling while canoeing in the National Wildlife Refuge at Cache River. This observation resulted in MANY people searching AND sighting the nesting areas and birds and even some photographs and video coverage of the event. This is news of national importance to ornithologists and the overall birding community. The call is out to continue gathering information and confirming sightings. The debate continues over whether the birds these people observed were instead Pileated Woodpeckers. (They look a lot a like.)
SO, the question is still hotly debated. Â Claims of sightings and disputes fly fast and furious at gatherings of birders every season. The official status of the IBW is Endangered, not Extinct. But there are still some people who believe it should be considered Extinct and doubt these more recent sightings.
Who would ever imagine that the swamps of eastern Arkansas would be the center of such national attention?
Even more astounding to me was discovering that some of the strongest birders in this fray have their headquarters on a small college campus in Huntsville, Alabama, less than an hour from where I live!
Lots of details about the people and the search are at the official Ivorybill website.
There is a really interesting children’s book written about the ivory-billed woodpecker championing the tale of possible return from extinction. It is a bit of an icon of hope for conservationists and birdwatchers. Perhaps has never really been truly gone.
Ivory-billed Woodpecker  Campephilus principalis Family  PicidaeÂ
Status Extinct OR Critically Endangered
If you were born after 1944 you have most likely never seen an Ivory-billed Woodpecker which was named by Linnaeus in 1758.
Description:Â Â Â Â The Ivory-billed Woodpecker is a large woodpecker resembling the Pileated Woodpecker.
It’s wingspan is about 30 inches, just less than 3 feet. The ivory-billed woodpecker ’s body is about 20 inches tallÂ
and very lightweight.(  this lightweight trait is true for most birds)
Their bright red heads against their stark black and white bodies are clear identifiers in the right habitat.Â
 The female has a black head. They both have prominent crests.Â
 The most similar bird is the Pileated Woodpecker which is both smaller and darker and more widespread in forested areas.
Habitat:
Ivory-billed Woodpeckers live in selected southern swamps and nest in the cavities of trees.Â
Southern swamps were harvested widely after the Civil War and this had adverse effects on
available habitat for the Ivory-billed Woodpecker.
Apparently to obtain enough food for adults and young they need a significant size area
(about 10 square miles) to find enough larvae and beetles or fruits and seeds.
Even when their population is healthy their numbers are low.Â
Habit/Behavior: Â
Ivory-billed woodpeckers are fascinating and mysterious even with their ephemeral sightings.Â
Not much is known about their behavior because they have been seen so rarely in the past few decades.
Shy and secretive birds of the swamp, the Ivory-billed woodpeckers are few in number and appear to mate for life.
Both male and female stay involved with raising and feeding the young. After about five weeks in the cavity nest
the young birds fledge but remain close to the parent birds who continue to feed them for another month or two
(somewhat like ravens).
Status:   Believe it or not, in these modern days the status of the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker is still a matter of dispute and discussion. This is the exciting part of the story.  The official designation is Critically ENDANGERED.
Though from 1944 to now sightings were so rare that they have been believed to be extinct. Â
Their population is minimal if it exists at all. It is endemic to southern swamps.
Habitat loss would be their greatest threat, along with a diminishing gene pool. Â
Ivory-billed Woodpecker Conservation Stamp Print Program
comment: I read an amazing story about an early explorer’s first encounter with the ivory-billed woodpecker! Alexander Wilson in the late 1700’s was in North Carolina, according to the record. He was recording the bird species in the area.(As most explorers of that time period, they observed birds up close and personal by shooting them and bringing them indoors to study and illustrate. Surely this practice was not helpful for the state of the species, but it was common practice at the time.) The Ivory-billed Woodpecker that he captured had only a slight wing wound, so he carried the bird inside his coat to the room where he was planning to draw it. The problem was the bird was NOT happy and was very LOUD and sounded like a pitiful child crying. That drew attention to him, some of the people were alarmed and others concerned. An innkeeper offered Wilson a room to care for the child. There is a LOT more to the tale. But I refer you to the book I read it in:
Â
                                                                                      © bydpb, 2007