1ºThe average lifespan of a pileated woodpecker is about 12 years; let's assume that the lifespan of an ivory-billed is about the same. That would mean that there would have had to have been about seven generations of birds through the years to ensure one could be alive today. There have been ZERO verifiable sighting since 1944, no-less the multitudes of sightings that would be expected if a viable, reproducing population still existed. It's simple genetics - there has not been a large-enough gene pool over the past 8 decades to sustain a population. I wish that wasn't the case, but alas....

---