Ivory-billed Woodpecker

Facts about Ivory-billed Woodpeckers, Scientific name for Ivory-billed Woodpecker is Campephilus principalis". Ivory-billed woodpecker is a type of bird that comes from the woodpecker family. The Ivory-billed Woodpeckers hail from the virgin forests of the southeastern parts of the United States, and they are one among the biggest woodpeckers in the world. Due to environment obliteration, and to a lesser amount hunting, the population of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker varieties has dwindled to the extent that it is unsure whether any of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker variety has been seen again. Nowadays, approximately, no forests can sustain the population of Ivory-billed Woodpecker birds.

Scientific name for Woodpecker "Picidae". Ivory-billed Woodpeckers are birds in the Class of "Aves". There are more than 190 species of woodpeckers worldwide, but none of them are found in polar regions, Madagascar, New Zealand or Australia.

The Ivory-billed woodpecker has a glossy blue-black color body, with white color markings on its back and neck and broad white on the trailing border of both the upper and lower parts of the wing. The under-wing of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker is also white in color along its frontward edge, causing a black color stripe running along the middle part of the under-wing, expanding to wider black color at the tip of the wing. In adult Ivory-billed Woodpeckers, their bill appears ivory in color, and in juveniles, it is chalky white in color. The Ivory-billed Woodpeckers have an outstanding crest, even though it is ragged in juveniles. Female Ivory-billed Woodpeckers and Juveniles appear with a black color crest, whereas the male ones appear with a black color crest along their forward rim, changing suddenly to red color on the side and back.

Diet

Ivory-billed woodpeckers chiefly feed on the young insects of the wood-boring beetles, but they also feed on fruits, seeds and other insects. The bird employs its huge white color bill to hit, wedge, and strip the bark off lifeless trees to locate the insects.

The average lifespan of the Ivory-billed woodpeckers ranges from 20 years to 30 years.

Ivory-billed Woodpeckers have zygodactyl feet, having 4 fingers, which means they have two toes facing the front and two toes facing the back, that helps them to have a strong grip on trees vertically. The Ivory-billed Ivory-billed Woodpecker use these 8 fingers with their stiff central portion tail feathers to brace on trees as they climb.

Features

An adult Ivory-billed woodpecker is the largest of all varieties of woodpeckers in the United States, with body length, ranging from 19 inches to 21 inches (48.2 to 53.3 cm), with the wingspan of 30 inches (76.2 cm). The body mass of the bird can varies from 0.99 pounds to 1.26 pounds (.44 to .56 cm). The woodpecker has a wing chord length that ranges from 9 5/16 inches to 10 13/32 inches (23.6 to 26.4 cm), with a tail length between 5 1/2 inches and 6 11/16 inches (14 to 17 cm). The bill length of the bird varies between 2 5/16 inches and 2 29/32 inches (5.8 to 7.3 cm), with a tarsus length between 1 19/32 inches and 1 13/16 inches (4 to 4.5 cm).

Male and female Ivory-billed Woodpeckers are able to drum hollow trees logs execrate. Since Ivory-billed Woodpeckers do not have vocal cords and don't sing, this pecking activity also plays an important role in communicating with each other. Ivory-billed Woodpeckers drumming is also to attract a mate, mark out territory, both sexes are known to drum.

An average Ivory-billed Woodpeckers tongue is up to 4 inches long. The length can be a little different depending on which species of woodpecker. The Ivory-billed Woodpeckers tongue wraps around the reinforced skull structured and squashy bone, to even out the impact of the pecking force. Ivory-billed Woodpeckers have barbed tongues that helps them remove bugs from holes and tree bark.
Feathers that look like hairs on the Ivory-billed Woodpecker nostrils, prevent ingestion of wood particles.

When feeding, drumming and building a nest cavity, a Ivory-billed Woodpecker can peck up to 20 times per second, wow that's fast! or a total between 9,000 and 12,000 pecks in a day.

Ivory-billed Woodpeckers have a prominent surge in flight comprise of three rapid wing flaps, followed by a quick glide when the woodpeckers wings are tucked against its body rather than spread out like many other birds.

Ivory-billed Woodpeckers are omnivores; meaning - an animal that eats food of both animal and plant and origin.

Ivory-billed Woodpeckers are monogamous meaning- the pair will mate for lifetime. Both male and female prepare the nest in the tree for babies and both will help feed them. The female Ivory-billed Woodpecker will lay between 3 and 5 eggs and the incubation period will lasts 11 to 14 days. After one month of hatching, young woodpeckers will leave the nest and venture out on there own.

Ivory-billed Woodpeckers possess a protective ocular mechanisms for protecting its eyes from shaking from the pecking impact. woodpeckers show a restricted axial globe movement due to the tight fit within the fascial tissue connections and orbit between the sclera and orbital rim.
The eyes of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker are covered with a nictitating membrane (from Latin nictare, to blink)— a translucent and transparent third eyelid - that protects the Ivory-billed Woodpeckers eyes from flying debris while pecking.