Ghost Bird 2010
Distributed by Microcinema International/Microcinema DVD, 1636 Bush St., Suite #2, SF, CA 94109; 415-447-9750
Produced by Small Change Productions
Directed by Scott Crocker
DVD, color, 85 min.
Jr. High – Adult
Birds, Bird Watching, Ecology, Endangered Species, Environmental Studies, Extinction, Natural History, Ornithology, Wildlife Conservation
Date Entered: 01/07/2011
Reviewed by Christopher Hollister, University at Buffalo LibrariesGhost Bird is at once a captivating, witty and chilling documentary about the reported discovery in 2004 of one or more ivory-billed woodpeckers (Campephilus principalis) in the remote “Big Woods” region of northeastern Arkansas. The unconfirmed reports of this species captured the imagination of bird enthusiasts from around the world and had an immediate and dramatic economic impact on the local community. The authenticity of the reports also ignited intense scientific debate among leading ornithologists.
As the largest and most striking member of the Picidae family in the United States, the ivory-billed woodpecker was nicknamed the “Lord God Bird” for the astonishment it used to elicit. The species, like the Carolina parakeet, the passenger pigeon, the Eskimo curlew, and so many others, was thought to be driven to extinction by human activity, and the last confirmed observation was that of a lone female in 1944. By way of focused narration, unpretentious interviews, and a clever journalistic zeal, Ghost Bird, presents the haunting historical demise of C. principalis; it also portrays a sensitive accounting of the hope that characterized the bird’s reported rediscovery, and the blunt reality that the species is likely gone forever. The reviewer highly recommends this title for academic, public, and school library collections.