We and millions around the world were captivated by the apparent re-discovery of this spectacular bird in the Cache River area of Arkansas last year*. This month's issue of "National Geographic" has a follow-up article. Alas, it says here that the Lord God bird is gone forever, that the intensive efforts to provide conclusive proof of the bird's existence in the last year having come to naught, that the most reasonable conclusion is that the 2005 sighting was in error, a product of hope and emotion, rather than fact. God damn it and god bless the Ivory-bill, gone now forever. This is Public Occurrences.That represents a massive shift towards skepticism at that blog, where this glowing piece appeared in August 2005.
2. Martjan Lammertink's wife Utami Setiorini now has a blog. An IBWO-related post is here.
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An article called Yes, South Carolina: Ivory-billed woodpecker exists, researcher says is linked on the CLO site. (Did I miss Tom covering this?)
Anyway, it says the following:
Birders in Arkansas captured grainy video of what some experts believe was an ivory-billed in 2004.
That bird did appear to have the white feathers on the trailing edge of the wings and the black forehead that sets the ivory-billed apart from its smaller cousin, the pileated woodpecker.
Did the CLO folks claim that the Luneau bird had a dark forehead? I don't remember even being able to see the forehead. Or is this a case of "field mark creep"?
Did the CLO folks claim that the Luneau bird had a dark forehead?
Well, it didn't have a giant chartreuse forehead with a two foot long mating appendage. And either does the IBWO.
That must be evidence of something.
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