Ghost of Southern Swamps:
Ivory-billed Woodpecker The largest of its tribe in the United States, the impressive Ivory-billed Woodpecker was also called the "Lord God Bird," after the typical reaction of people who saw it swoop into view. This charismatic species inhabited untouched bottomlands and swamps that once stretched across the southern United States. These hardwood forests, also the habitat of birds ranging from the Prothonotary Warbler to the Swallow-tailed Kite, were largely destroyed by loggers by the mid-20th century, and the Ivory-billed Woodpecker disappeared along with them. But like an unquiet ghost, the Ivory-billed Woodpecker seems to be reported from time to time, tantalizing birders worldwide with the question: Does this spectacular species still exist? | |
