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- Permanent Link:
- http://dpanther.fiu.edu/dpService/dpPurlService/purl/FI14090841/00001
Notes
- Scope and Content:
- Source: Ivory-billed Woodpeckers 1
Length of Segment: 00:01:15
Hi, I'm Dr. Jerry Jackson, out with the wild things. Why is the ivory-billed woodpecker, a bird with a 30-inch wingspan and the second largest woodpecker in the world, an endangered species? The most important reason for its decline was loss of the virgin forest that once covered much of the southeast. This is a bird that thrived in forests with six feet or more in diameter, and bigger trees supported bigger insects. Among the ivory bill’s known food are grubs of long-horned beetles: white, juicy larvae that are often half an inch in diameter and nearly three inches long. These grubs specialize in feeding on the heartwood of trees that have recently died. Bigger trees support more of the beetles, providing enough for ivory bill meals. But for a continuing supply of food, birds have to have a very large forest, one with a continuing supply of large old trees that are dying. Our best estimates suggest that each pair of ivory bills needs at least six square miles of old-growth bottomland forest to survive. We still have a few wild areas in Florida that could support the ivory bill, and recent reports from Arkansas give us hope that this magnificent bird might still be with us. ( English )
- Scope and Content:
- Source: Ivory-billed Woodpeckers 2
Length of Segment: 00:01:15
Hi, I'm Dr. Jerry Jackson, out with the wild things. The crow-sized ivory-billed woodpecker lived only in the southeastern United States and Cuba, but its three inch long ivory-colored bill and the red and black crest of male ivory bills were valuable trade items outside this range. Its bill was used in crowns worn by Native Americans in Canada and has been found in Native American graves in Colorado and other states. In the southeast, scalps and skins of ivory bills decorated medicine bundles and in the Great Plains, scalps and bills of male ivory bills adorned Native American war pipes. Yes, I said war pipes. Structure of Native American pipes varied with use. The stem of a peace pipe was round in cross-section; that of a war pipe was flattened. Perhaps the red crest of the male against black feathers of the crown of the bird was symbolic of scalping. Killing of an ivory bill was difficult until Europeans provided Native Americans with guns. With guns, however, killing the birds was easy and both Native Americans and others with guns contributed to the bird’s rapid decline. ( English )
- Scope and Content:
- Source: Ivory-billed Woodpeckers 3
Length of Segment: 00:01:15
Hi, I'm Dr. Jerry Jackson, out with the wild things. The last documented sighting of an ivory-billed woodpecker in North America was in April 1944 in northeastern Louisiana. Others have reported seeing the birds, including many sightings in Florida and recent sightings in a poor-quality video from Arkansas. Yet solid proof of the continued existence of these birds has eluded scientists. What’s needed is a good quality photograph, or better, a good quality video. The ivory bills preference for extensive old-growth forest, especially in swamp areas, its apparent sensitivity to human disturbance, and its ability to move great distances all contribute to its elusiveness. Although the chances of finding an ivory bill are very slim, some of the best remaining hopes for the birds are to be found in extensive forested areas in Florida. Along Chipola, Apalachicola, and lower Suwannee rivers in North Florida and of the vast, forested swamplands of the interior of South Florida. ( English )
Record Information
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- Resource Identifier:
- FI00900174
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