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Nature 436, 447 (28 July 2005) | doi:10.1038/436447a; Published online 27 July 2005

Sighting of 'extinct' bird may have been a case of mistaken identity

Rex Dalton

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Doubts raised over validity of ivory-bill woodpecker report.

It was touted as the conservation discovery of a lifetime — an ivory-billed woodpecker, a bird long thought to be extinct, spotted in the Arkansas swamps. But now the finding is being called into question, which could cast doubt on several prominent US conservation measures.