In areas other than Ohio, the ivory-billed woodpecker survived in the large, uncut bottomland or swamp forests of North and South America until the late 1800s. There is no proof that they lived in Ohio during historic times. The date of their disappearance from the state is unknown, however. Most trade involved skins and skulls or beaks, so some scientists believe the leg bones found in refuse pits are strong evidence the birds actually lived in Ohio. There is some debate about whether the bones show a population living in Ohio, or merely trade of bird parts with Native Americans living further south. These remains suggest that the ivory-billed woodpecker lived in Ohio between the twelfth and sixteenth centuries. Leg bones and a partial beak bone have been found at three sites in Ross, Scioto, and Muskingum counties. History Pre-SettlementД®vidence from southern Ohio archaeological sites is all that remains of the ivory-billed woodpecker. They look very much like the pileated woodpecker except that they are larger, have a white bill rather than a dark colored bill, and have large white patches on the rear of the wings, which are visible in flight and appear as a white, lower back when perched. The male has a red crest while the females have a black crest. The ivory-billed woodpecker is larger than a crow with black and white body feathers. Small amounts of fruit such as wild grapes, persimmons and hackberries. They are believed to mate for life, and they share duties of incubating and raising the young. These large birds may live up to 30 years. A pair of ivory-bills is estimated to require six square miles of uncut forest - roughly 36 times as much territory as pileated woodpeckers. Large areas of virgin forest of oak, sweet gum, and hackberry with dying branches. After 60 years of thinking the Ivory-billed Woodpecker was extinct, it was discovered in eastern Arkansas in February of 2004.

Ivory billed woodpecker