Lord God Bird
The ivory-billed woodpecker, also known as the Lord God bird, is a very large woodpecker native to the bogs of the southeastern United States. Already endangered in the 1930s, the birds’ habitat was extensively logged, and the ivory-bill was believed to be extinct for over 60 years. Then in 2005, it was announced that several sightings had occurred, all in the same area along the White River in Arkansas.
I heard about the sighting of the ivory-billed woodpecker on NPR in April of 2005. At the time, I had never heard of the bird, but the emotion with which the locals and professional and amateur ornithologists discussed the possibility that this strange and beautiful bird might not be dead was really moving to me. One man, after seeing the bird, just sat down and cried. It was as if these people had had a sign that the earth was more beautiful, and more merciful, than they had believed.
In addition to the very thorough wikipedia page linked above, the Cornell Department of Ornithology has a web site devoted to the search for ivory-billed woodpecker, including possible video footage of the bird. The most recent issue of Birding Archives is largely devoted to the ivory-bill as well.
