A MESSAGE OF HOPE

from the Big Woods of The Mississippi Delta region, a region of ancient hardwood forests of cypresses and tupelos. Natures own Cathedral is witnessing the reappearance of an exoitc bird of paradise, one solely American.

The distinctive double-rap sound characteristic of ivory-billed woodpeckers, once believed extinct by scientists, can be heard on the Web today, as further evidence the rare bird is alive and well in Arkansas forests.

The ivory-bill, the world's third-largest woodpecker, has a 30-inch wingspan, a jet-black body and large white wing patches. The recordings of tapping and a "toot'' call like a tin horn are similar to sounds made by the rare woodpecker, researchers at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology said in a statement today.

"It's like the bird came out of the woods to tell us, you're doing a good job,'' said Scott Simon, director of the Nature Conservancy in Arkansas, in a telephone interview today. "It validates 20 years of conservation work.''

Once known as the "Lord God'' bird for the exclamation provoked by its dramatic appearance, the ivory-bill was believed extinct until an announcement in April that a team had documented its presence in Arkansas wildlife refuges. One hundred double- knock sounds were identified after 18,000 hours of recordings were analyzed, researchers told the American Ornithologists Union in Santa Barbara, California. more here.

The recordings can be heard at http://www.birds.cornell.edu