Ivory-billed Woodpecker Identification

The Four Keys to ID

• Size & Shape

  This was the largest woodpecker in North America north of Mexico. It had a very heavy, straight bill, a fairly long neck, and a short crest.

  Relative Size

  Slightly larger than an American Crow, smaller than a Red-tailed Hawk.

  crow-sized

  Measurements

  • Both Sexes
  • • Length: 18.1-20.1 in (46-51 cm)
    • Weight: 15.9-20.1 oz (450-570 g)
    • Wingspan: 29.9-31.5 in (76-80 cm)

  © Arthur A. Allen / Macaulay Library

• Color Pattern

  Ivory-billed Woodpeckers were mostly black with two white stripes down the neck and large white panels in the upperwings that remained visible when the wings were folded. Males had a red crest; females had a black crest. Both sexes had pale bills.

• Behavior

  Ivory-billed Woodpeckers fed on large trees and fallen logs, stripping away bark to search for large beetle larvae. They flew between trees with graceful swoops, but when moving larger distances they flapped steadily, creating a level flight path.
• Habitat

  They lived in extensive tracts of open forest with large trees. At one time they occurred in upland pine forests, but by the 1890s they were restricted to bottomland swamps containing bald cypress, commuting to pine forests or recently flooded or burned stands to forage.