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Glite Dictionary
ivory-billed woodpecker

ivory-billed woodpecker

2 9.9
A large black and white bird with an ivory colored bill that is very rare and may be extinct
  • noun
  • /ˈaɪvəriˌbɪld ˈwʊdˌpɛkər/
  • US
translation icon : pájaro carpintero de pico de marfil
  • Are you anywhere near those Arkansan swamps where the ivory-billed woodpecker (Elvis) was purportedly rediscovered?
  • the ivory-billed woodpecker is extinct
  • the elusive ivory-billed woodpecker
  • recording of the ivory-billed woodpecker

Examples

  • Only a few U.S. bird species (notably the ivory-billed woodpecker and spotted owl) are confined to primary forest; most U.S. birds have survived in young secondary forest while virtually all the virgin forest of the eastern United States was being logged.

    Academic text (1991)

  • The reported recent sightings of the ivory-billed woodpecker in the Florida Panhandle spotlighted not only the reputedly extinct bird but also the rich biodiversity of the Choctawhatchee River.

    Academic text (2008)

  • The Choctawhatchee River is one place where ivory-billed woodpeckers have reputedly been sighted.

    Academic text (2008)

  • In a place where rivers run fresh and forests cycle naturally, long-lost treasures like the ivory-billed woodpecker or longleaf pine habitats may yet be recovered.

    Academic text (2008)

  • The elusive ivory-billed woodpecker is perhaps emblematic of biodiversity in the panhandle, Keller reflects, in that "it evokes the hope and the promise that nature, given the opportunity to survive, can and often will."

    Academic text (2008)

  • The focus on the Florida Panhandle, one of two locales (the Big Woods area of Arkansas is the other) being searched for the ivory-billed woodpecker, has underscored the environmental context for species survival.

    Academic text (2008)

  • The last confirmed sighting of the ivory-billed woodpecker in the United States was five decades ago.

  • Interior Department officials this week announced that the ivory-billed woodpecker, long thought to be extinct, still lives.

  • There have been 14 ivory-billed woodpecker sightings reported on this 20-mile segment.

Synonyms

Campephilus principalis
vsivory-billed woodpecker
  • Specialized
9.9

A large black and white woodpecker from the southern United States and Cuba thought nearly extinct

is the everyday descriptive name rather than the scientific label
ivorybill
vsivory-billed woodpecker
  • US
9.9

A large black and white woodpecker with a pale beak now almost extinct

is the longer descriptive name used in more formal contexts

Surface Forms

ivory-billed woodpecker singular
ivory-billed woodpeckers plural

Morphology

ivory-billed + woodpecker

The phrase is compositionally built: 'ivory-billed' means 'having an ivory-coloured bill' and 'woodpecker' is a bird that pecks wood, so the compound denotes a woodpecker with an ivory-coloured bill. This is a standard adjective+noun formation that a B1 learner who knows the constituents can deduce, making the expression transparent.

Etymology

Ivory-billed woodpecker gets its name from the bird's pale, ivory-colored bill: ivory for the light colour and billed meaning 'has a beak'. So the name points to the large black-and-white woodpecker, which today is sadly very rare or possibly extinct.