Imperial woodpecker

The imperial woodpecker's typical size ranges from . The male imperial woodpecker has a red-sided crest, centered black, but otherwise mostly black, with large white wing-patches, thin white "braces" on its mantle and a huge ivory-colored bill. They are all black except for the inner primaries, which are white-tipped, the white secondaries and a white scapular stripe which, unlike the ivory-billed woodpecker, does not extend onto the neck. The female is similar, but her crest is all black and (unlike the female ivory-bill) recurved at the top, lacking any red. Much larger than any other sympatric woodpecker, it is the only woodpecker in the area with solid black underparts. Its voice is reportedly toy trumpet-like. The bird was once widespread and, until the early 1950s, not uncommon throughout the Sierra Madre Occidental of Mexico, from western Sonora and Chihuahua southwards to Jalisco and Michoacán. It is likely that, in the past, the woodpecker's range followed the Sierra Madre north into Arizona, but by the time it was scientifically described in the 19th century, it was already confined to Mexico. It has been suggested that it might occur in Arizona, and there is also a hypothetical record of it in 1958 in Big Bend National Park, Texas, however this is not mentioned in Oberholser's two-volume The Bird Life of Texas. The imperial woodpecker prefers open montane forests made up of pine – oak forest dominated by large pines and with numerous dead trees, usually between above sea level. Most records are from elevations of , but there are records as low as . Large-growing pines native in the Sierra Madre Occidental include Durango, Chihuahua white, Apache and Arizona pines. It feeds mainly on the insect larvae found underneath bark scaled from dead pine trees. There are many reports of more than four individuals, and this grouping behaviour may be related to its foraging specialisation. Breeding has been recorded between February and June, and probably one to four eggs are laid. A mated pair requires a very large area of untouched mature forest to survive, approximately ; ==Decline and possible extinction==

The imperial woodpecker is officially listed as "critically endangered (possibly extinct)" by the IUCN and BirdLife International. It was not historically a rare species within a suitable habitat, but the total population probably never numbered more than 8,000 individuals (Lammertink et al. 1996). Any remaining population is assumed to be tiny (numbering fewer than 50 mature individuals) based on the lack of confirmed records since 1956; analyses of remaining habitats indicate that no tracts remain which are large enough to support the species. The last confirmed record was from Durango in 1956 and the species is very likely now extinct. If they have gone extinct, it would have been due to habitat destruction and fragmentation combined with hunting. These factors are the reason why the species has not been seen in over 60 years, although there have been local reports of sightings. Researchers believe that their decline was also accelerated by active eradication campaigns conducted by logging interests and by over-hunting — for use in folk medicine and because nestlings were considered a delicacy by the Tarahumara. It has been hunted for sport, food and for medicinal purposes over a long period of time and feathers and bills were reportedly used in rituals by the Tepheuana and Huichol tribes in the south of Durango. Additionally, imperial woodpeckers are stunning birds and, as the species became increasingly rare, many were apparently shot by people who had never encountered such a bird and wanted to get a closer look. '', Berlin; note hand for size comparison The habitat in which the imperial woodpecker was located is predominantly montane pine-oak forests. The area in which they lived was abundant with large dead trees, the removal of which could be linked to their extinction. The area had been cleared and logged multiple times by 2010. Increasing effort in conservation biology is being devoted to the analysis of the extinction risk as well as the search for the rare, long unseen, species. There are a handful of more recent, unconfirmed sightings, In Gallagher's nonfiction account Imperial Dreams (2013), he discusses how difficult the search is for the imperial woodpecker due to its dangerous location. In Mexico's Sierra Madre Occidental, there are major marijuana and opium poppy-growing regions that are patrolled by armed guards. The drug cartels often kill anyone who comes too close to their crops. reveals that only 144 physical specimens of the imperial woodpecker exist, including only three known complete skeletons. An overlooked woodpecker skeleton from the Natural History Museum at Tring appears to also belong to the species. The species is also known from a single amateur film from 1956 depicting one bird climbing, foraging and flying. The film has been restored and released by Cornell University. The imperial woodpecker has been considered to be extinct by the Government of Mexico since 2001. However, its rediscovery or reintroduction would prompt immediate protection under the law. ==See also==