The Ivory-billed Woodpecker
A woodpecker thought extinct was reported in an Arkansas swamp, backed by a few seconds of blurry video.
What was reported
The ivory-billed woodpecker, the largest woodpecker in the United States, lost most of its old-growth forest habitat to logging; the last widely accepted sighting was in Louisiana in 1944.
On 11 February 2004, a kayaker, Gene Sparling, reported seeing one in the Cache River National Wildlife Refuge in Arkansas. In 2005 a team led by Cornell University announced several more sightings and a brief, blurry video.
Explanations offered
Some ornithologists argue the bird in the video is a pileated woodpecker, a common relative with similar markings, and years of searching produced no clear photograph. Others believe it survives. In 2023 the US Fish and Wildlife Service held off declaring it extinct, citing continued uncertainty.
- When
- 11 February 2004
- Where
- Cache River, Arkansas, USA
- Witnesses
- A kayaker, then a team of ornithologists
- Status
- Disputed
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.