He reported that the female had a black crest, as ivory bills do. Pileated females have red crests, Kulivan notes. The fact that the male and female were together was another hint, as ivory bill mating pairs stay together while pileateds generally do not. Another distinct difference noted by Kulivan was the way the birds used their bills. Pileated birds are known to drive their beaks into the bark with a quick and steady repetition similar to a drum roll.
Expeditions are more effective in mid-winter or early spring.
It's not a pleasant experience most of the time. Muth is among those who would like to believe the bird still exists. But, as with others, he has trouble being completely optimistic, in large part because he's seen little evidence that the habitat the bird requires can still be found in America. According to AP, the birds diet consists of beetles that infest recently dead, old-growth trees just beneath the bark. Tree cutting in the sighting area during the past century has affected most of what is now the refuge, leaving little, if any, of the environment required for the bird's survival, Muth says.