[Steve]

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Imperial Woodpecker (Campephilus imperialis)

Justification There have been no confirmed records of this species since 1956. More recent reports involve very few birds and there is almost no suitable breeding habitat remaining. Consequently, if it is not already extinct, the remaining population is likely to be tiny and it therefore qualifies as Critical.


Identification 56-60 cm. Enormous, stunning black-and-white woodpecker. Mostly black with large white wing-patch and thin white on mantle. Huge ivory bill. Male has red crest (centred black) and nape. Female lacks red but has long, curling black crest. Juvenile browner. Similar spp. Much larger than any other sympatric woodpecker. Voice Reportedly toy-trumpet like calls.

Population estimate 50

Population trend unknown

Range estimate 0 km2

Country endemic? Yes


Range & Population Campephilus imperialis was formerly distributed throughout the Sierra Madre Occidental of Mexico in Sonora, Chihuahua, Durango, Nayarit, Zacatecas (possibly) and north Jalisco with more isolated populations in west Jalisco and MichoacIt was not historically a rare species within suitable habitat, but the total population probably never numbered more than 8,000 individuals. The last confirmed record was from Durango in 1956 but there are seven convincing local reports of sightings after 1965The most recent are of a pair in central Durango in 1993, a single male c.20 km from this site in 1995, and a single female in north Sonora in 1993. Even if a few individuals persist, extensive habitat fragmentation has made extinction virtually inevitable.

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Ecology It requires extensive areas (26 km per pair) of continuous open pine forest on relatively flat plateaus with large numbers of snags for foraging and nesting. Most records are from elevations of 1,920-3,050 m, but there are records as low as 1,675 m. There are many reports of more than four individuals, and this grouping behaviour may be related to its foraging specialisation The main food source, beetle larvae in snags, is probably patchily distributed and peaks within a short period of time Consequently, feeding-sites are probably best exploited by groups. If it operated in groups of seven or eight individuals, the minimum area of old-growth forest for a group would be 98 km Breeding has been recorded between February and June, and probably 1-4 eggs are laid.




Threats CITES Appendix I. The chief threats are the combined and interconnected impacts of hunting and habitat loss. It has been hunted for fun, food and supposed medicinal purposes over a long period of time. The expansion of lumber operations into remote parts of the sierra opened up areas for settlement (and hunters) in the early 1950s. Although over-hunting probably precipitated the initial decline, this was compounded by the widespread removal of dead pines for pulp and mature pines for timber. By 1996, only 22 km of suitable breeding habitat remained and even the area from where the pair were reported in 1993 had been logged.

Action A number of specific searches have been undertaken since the 1960s, including an extensive 11 month search in 1994-1995 There are no confirmed records