The Grail Bird: Hot on the Trail of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker

Very good used hardcover in un-clipped dust jacket.

What is it about the ivory-billed woodpecker? Why does this ghost of the southern swamps arouse such an obsessive level of passion in its devotees, who range from respected researches to the flakiest Loch Ness monster fanatics?

Since the earliest twentieth century, scientists have been trying to prove that the ivory-bill is extinct. For decades, every sighting has been met with ridicule and scorn. Yet the reports still trickle in. Is there any truth to these sightings, or are they just wishful thinking, misidentification, or outright fabrication?

To unravel the mystery, author and Living Bird editor in chief Tim Gallagher heads deep into the eerie swamps and bayous of the vast Mississippi Delta, searching for people who claim to have seen this rarest of birds and following up on their sightings.

Then Tim and his buddy Bobby Harrison think they see it themselves, leading to the largest search ever launched to find a rare bird, as researchers fan out across the bayou, hoping to document the existence of this most iconic of birds.