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The bird call heard around
the world
Van Remsen, curator of the LSU
Museum of Natural Science and bird expert, led an international team
of scientists on a search for the ivory-billed woodpecker, long thought
to be extinct. In January the team spent 30 days in the woods and swamps
of south Louisiana near the Pearl River, one of the largest blocks of
forest remaining in the southeastern United States. It was in this area
where LSU student David Kulivan first reported seeing a pair of ivory-billed
woodpeckers at close range in April 1999. The team found several clues
hinting at the possible presence of the bird, including cavities produced
by the ivory-billed woodpecker and a recorded series of raps that may
have been made by an ivory-billed woodpecker. No definite proof of the
bird's existence was found, but more searches in this area are being planned
for the future. The search was a cooperative effort between LSU,
Zeiss Sports Optics, the Louisiana
Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
and others.
Last updated April 2002
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