The Ivory-Billed Woodpecker: (Dover Birds)

Long thought extinct, the elusive Ivory-billed Woodpecker may yet live: in 1999, the birding community was galvanized at the news of a sighting by a hunter in a Louisiana forest. A series of expeditions continue to search for the rare bird, and all seekers rely on this elegant treatise. Written by James Tanner as his doctoral thesis, it was published by the National Audubon Society in 1942, when a few of the species could still be found in the cypress and bottomland forests of the southern United States.The book opens with a general description of the Ivory-bill, explaining how to distinguish it from its more commonly encountered cousin, the Pileated Woodpecker. It then plots the species' original distribution pattern; tells the history of its disappearance and the story of its distribution as of 1940; discusses the population density and range of individual birds; food and feeding habits; daily routine in the non-nesting season; voice; reactions to human presence; roosting; reproductive and nesting habits; care of the young; and causes of nesting failure. In conclusion, the author outlines both a general and a specific program for conserving the species. An appendix covers nomenclature, related species, plumages, anatomy, and measurements, and lists the scientific names of birds, mammals, and reptiles mentioned in the text. A model of patient, exacting field research, this book offers fact-filled and engrossing reading for birders and other nature lovers.

Table of Contents:
FOREWORD PREFACE ACKNOWLEDGMENTS LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS INTRODUCTION PART I. THE IVORY-BILLED WOODPECKER CHAPTER 1 GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE IVORY-BILLED WOODPECKER PART II. DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT 2 ORIGINAL DISTRIBUTION 3 HABITATS OF THE IVORY-BILLED WOODPECKER 4 HISTORY OF THE DISAPPEARANCE OF THE IVORY-BILLED WOODPECKER 5 PRESENT DISTRIBUTION AND NUMBERS OF THE IVORY-BILLED WOODPECKER PART III. ECOLOGY OF THE IVORY-BILLED WOODPECKER 6 POPULATION DENSITY AND INDIVIDUAL RANGE 7 HISTORY OF THE IVORY-BILLED WOODPECKER POPULATION IN THE SINGER TRACT 8 FOOD AND FEEDING HABITS 9 THE EFFECT OF QUANTITY OF FOOD ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE IVORY-BILLED WOODPECKER 10 OTHER FACTORS AFFECTING THE IVORY-BILLED WOODPECKER 11 GENERAL HABITS AND BEHAVIOR PART IV. REPRODUCTIVE AND NESTING HABITS 12 TERRITORY AND COURTSHIP 13 NEST BUILDING AND THE NEST 14 EGGS AND INCUBATION 15 CARE OF YOUNG 16 NESTING SUCCESS AND CAUSES OF NESTING FAILURE 17 SUMMARY OF THE REPRODUCTIVE HABITS OF THE IVORY-BILLED WOODPECKER PART V. CONSERVATION OF THE IVORY-BILLED WOODPECKER 18 REQUIREMENTS AND GENERAL POLICY OF A CONSERVATION PROGRAM 19 PRINCIPAL IVORY-BILLED WOODPECKER LOCALITIES 20 SPECIFIC MEASURES FOR THE CONSERVATION OF THE IVORY-BILLED WOODPECKER "PART VI. SUMMARY OF THE ECOLOGY, LIFE HISTORY AND CONSERVATION OF THE IVORY-BILLED WOODPECKER" APPENDIX A NOMENCLATURE B TAXONOMY AND RELATED SPECIES C PLUMAGES AND ANATOMY D MEASUREMENTS E SCIENTIFIC NAMES OF TREE SPECIES MENTIONED IN TEXT REFERENCES CITED INDEX