From the Brink of Extinction: Harrison to Speak on His Rediscovery of a Rare Bird

Mar. 30, 2010

FLORENCE, Ala. – For decades, many experts had believed the ivory-billed woodpecker to be extinct. That all changed in 2004, when Bobby Harrison and a colleague, Tim Gallagher, rediscovered the long-thought extinct bird in the Big Woods region of Arkansas.

Harrison will speak about his rediscovery of the ivory-billed woodpecker at 4:15 p.m. Thursday at the University of North Alabama’s Floyd Science Building, room 100. The presentation is being hosted by the UNA chapter of the Beta Beta Beta Honor Society.

The ivory-billed woodpecker is the largest woodpecker in North America. It was listed as an endangered species March 11, 1967.

Harrison, best known for his quest to find this possibly extinct bird, is an associate professor and director at the art program at Oakwood University in Huntsville. An award-winning photographer, he has had photographs and articles published in various magazines, including Audubon, Living Bird, Birder’s World and Natural History.

For more information on Harrison’s presentation at UNA, contact Dr. Don Roush, professor of biology, at 256-765-4435 or dhroush@una.edu.