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February 08, 2006
Prominent Bird Expert Casts Doubt On Ivory-billed Woodpecker
Writing in the ornithology journal The Auk (January 2006), Florida Gulf Coast University ornithologist Jerome A. Jackson criticized the “evidence” used to support the conclusion that the Woodpecker wasn’t extinct after all. This includes a four-second video of an alleged sighting which garnered widespread media attention; several other anecdotal sightings; and acoustic signals purported to be vocalization and raps from the Woodpecker.
News of the alleged Woodpecker sighting caught on video was first released in late-April 2005 and spread rapidly through the birding community and in to the mainstream media.
“While the world rejoiced, my elation turned to disbelief,” wrote Jackson. “I had seen the ‘confirming’ video in the news releases and recognized its poor quality, but I had believed [anyway],” he continued.
“Then I saw [a still image] and seriously doubted that this evidence was confirmation of an Ivory-billed Woodpecker. Even a cursory comparison of this figure with [photographs and illustrations of real Ivory-billed Woodpeckers] shows that the white on the wing of the bird… is too extensive to be that of an Ivory-billed Woodpecker,” Jackson wrote.
Jackson is also dismayed at the diversion of federal funds away from threatened species protection towards the Ivory-billed Woodpecker recovery effort.
Birders all over the world are still waiting for undisputable evidence for the Ivory-billed's existence to be put forth.
Posted by Surfbirds at February 8, 2006 06:56 AM
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