Scientists say they have spotted the elusive ivory-billed woodpecker 14 times in the last year in the Florida panhandle, raising hope that the rare bird is truly back from the brink of extinction. Bird experts had deemed the ivory bill — a crow-sized creature with a characteristic white beak, a red crest and a 30 inch wingspan — extinct for half a century until one was seen in eastern Arkansas in 2004. John Fitzpatrick, director of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, who has led the search for the woodpecker in Arkansas , hailed the Florida find as strong evidence.

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