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<h1>Video analysis of the escape flight of Pileated Woodpecker <em>Dryocopus pileatus</em>: does the Ivory-billed Woodpecker <em>Campephilus principalis </em>persist in continental North America?</h1> <p><strong>J Martin Collinson</strong></p> <em>University of Aberdeen, School of Medical Sciences, Institute of Medical Sciences, Foresterhill, Aberdeen AB25 2ZD, UK</em><br> <p> </p> <h4>Background</h4> <p>The apparent rediscovery of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker <em>Campephilus principalis </em>in Arkansas, USA, previously feared extinct, was supported by video evidence of a single bird in flight (Fitzpatrick <em>et al</em>, <em>Science </em>2005, <strong>308</strong>:1460–1462). Plumage patterns and wingbeat frequency of the putative Ivory-billed Woodpecker were said to be incompatible with the only possible confusion species native to the area, the Pileated Woodpecker <em>Dryocopus pileatus</em>.</p> <h4>Results</h4> <p>New video analysis of Pileated Woodpeckers in escape flights comparable to that of the putative Ivory-billed Woodpecker filmed in Arkansas shows that Pileated Woodpeckers can display a wingbeat frequency equivalent to that of the Arkansas bird during escape flight. The critical frames from the Arkansas video that were used to identify the bird as an Ivory-billed Woodpecker are shown to be equally, or more, compatible with the Pileated Woodpecker.</p> <h4>Conclusion</h4> <p>The identification of the bird filmed in Arkansas in April 2004 as an Ivory-billed Woodpecker is best regarded as unsafe. The similarities between the Arkansas bird and known Pileated Woodpeckers suggest that it was most likely a Pileated Woodpecker.</p> <p><em>BMC Biology 2007, 5:8. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.</em></p>
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