Luneau said, "I was not completely convinced that this woodpecker was an ivory-bill until March 17, 2005, when John Fitzpatrick, Martjan Lammertink, Tim Gallagher, Ron Rohrbaugh, and I together made measurements of the bird [recorded on video] as it began to fly from the side of the tree. It became clear to me at that time that we had proof that the bird was too big for a pileated."Ok, Luneau says he was not completely convinced, even nearly a year after he shot his video. Remember, Marc Dantzker "sharpened up" the video in May of 2004. In contrast with Luneau's statement, Tim Gallagher wrote that afterwards "Everyone who was familiar with what an ivory-billed woodpecker looks like seemed utterly convinced that this was the real thing." (from The Grail Bird, page 225).
On the previous page, Gallagher also says "In the blown-up film, I could see what appeared to be a large bird with a black-crested head and a white bill peering out from behind a tupelo." I don't know anyone else who admits to seeing either of those two features.
Of course, I'm skeptical of the size measurement that convinced Luneau. My analysis is here. Of course, the public skeptics must also be unconvinced by Cornell's size measurement.
Posts
