Episode 32: Royal Peckers: The (Probably) Extinct Imperial Woodpecker

While it's the largest woodpecker to ever peck on the face of the earth, the Imperial Woodpecker gets much less love than its close relative the famous Ivory Billed Woodpecker. New Yorker and Dirty Bird Superfan JayPogo joins John to talk about this little studied woodpecker and its crazy curly-Q hairstyle. Learn about its unique behaviors, evolutionary history, and how it (likely) went extinct. Also, Jay Pogo and John talk about birding and life in general. A fun episode that will bring smiles and maybe tears. RIP Imperial Woodpecker. ..Cover art: Painting of Male and Female Imperial Woodpecker by John Livzey Ridgway, first published in The Auk, now in the Public Domain..Intro music by Ricky Pistone, Outro music by the Sidewalk Slammers