Synopses & Reviews
Long thought extinct, the elusive Ivory-billed Woodpecker was rediscovery in a remote region of Arkansas. This book is a fascinating and comprehensive study of the remarkable bird. It was originally published by the National Audubon Society in 1942 when the Ivory-bill's survival was in danger and only few of the species could still be found in the southern United States. It opens with a general description (explaining how to distinguish the Ivory-bill from its more commonly encountered cousin, the Pileated Woodpecker), and offers an extensive profile of the species' other characteristics and habits, including its original distribution patterns, the history of its disappearance, and its feeding, nesting, and breeding habits.
Synopsis
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.
Synopsis
All who seek the elusive Ivory-billed Woodpecker rely on this elegant treatise from 1942, an extensive profile of the species' characteristics and habits that includes its original distribution patterns; the history of its disappearance; and its feeding, nesting, and breeding habits. 20 halftones, 17 tables, 22 other illustrations.
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