Ivory-billed woodpecker flies back from the dead: "For the world of ornithology, it is the equivalent of Elvis being found alive and kicking.

Because, far from being extinct for at least 50 years, the ivory-billed woodpecker Campephilus principalis has been spotted in the “Big Woods” region of eastern Arkansas, US. “This is not any old bird - it’s America’s largest woodpecker and it’s legendary,” says John Fitzpatrick of Cornell University, and head of a year-long expedition to corroborate initial sightings of the species in February 2004.

The definitive evidence is 4 seconds of blurry video captured by the camcorder of David Luneau of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. It was shot at 1540 local time on 25 April as he scoured the area in his kayak."



posted by Kaushik at 2:21 AM Comment (3)