Ivory-billed woodpecker

The ivory-billed woodpecker (Campephilus principalis) is a possibly-extinct woodpecker native to the bottomland hardwood forests and temperate coniferous forests of the Southern United States and Cuba. Habitat destruction and hunting have reduced populations so thoroughly that the species is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and as “definitely or probably extinct” by the American Birding Association. The last universally accepted sighting of an American ivory-billed woodpecker occurred in Louisiana in 1944, and the last universally accepted sighting of a Cuban ivory-billed woodpecker occurred in 1987; sporadic reports of sightings and other evidence of the birds’ persistence have continued since then. In the 21st century, reported sightings and analyses of audio and visual recordings have been published in peer-reviewed scientific journals as evidence that the species persists in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Florida. Various land purchases and habitat restoration efforts have been initiated in areas where sightings and other evidence have suggested a relatively high probability the species exists, to protect any surviving individuals. In September 2021, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed that the species be declared extinct, pending a 60-day period of public comment ending November 29, 2021. The IUCN has not changed its assessment of the species.