Habitat of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker

Ivory-billed Woodpecker characteristics

• The Ivory-billed Woodpecker was was mainly black with white covering to its sides along with a signature red crest on the top its head. A noticeable physical characteristic of the species is its ivory-colored bill, which gives it the name. With a wingspan of 30 inches, they were the largest woodpeckers in the United States. Ivory-billed Woodpeckers had a lifespan of 20 to 30 years.

Range Of Territory

• The Ivory-billed Woodpecker territory extended throughout most of the southeastern region of the United States all the way up to southern Illinois. The decline in Ivory-billed Woodpeckers began in the late 18th century. The last reported sighting was in the state of Arkansas in 2005.

Trees and Natural Surroundings

• The types of trees are significant features of the ideal habitat of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. Soft-wooded trees, such as pine, grow rapidly. Birds find easy penetration to round out openings and space for nests. The habitat also includes hardwood trees sugarberries (hackberries), red maple and others.

Foraging Food

• Ivory-billed Woodpeckers consumed beetle larvae, which they found around dead trees. The woodpeckers also typically searched underneath the bark of dead trees to find larvae. Due to the amount of food foraged within dead trees, Ivory woodpeckers were attracted to forests susceptible to floods, rainstorms and fires.

Destruction of Habitat

• One of main reasons for the disappearance of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker is the destruction of their habitat during the Civil War era. At the time, most of the forests were harvested for logging, building and constructing new areas for settlers. Hunting was another contributing factor for the bird's decline.