A complete natural history of one of the most exciting and rare (perhaps extinct) birds in the world, and a fascinating personal quest by the world's leading expert on the species. Jackson provides detailed insights into the birds lifestyle, habitat, and cultural significance, examining its iconic status from the late 1800s to the present in advertising, conservation, and lore. Jackson's search takes him across the US and into Cuba. He spends hours flying over potential ivory-bill habitat, canoeing through isolated waterways, and trudging through swamps, always playing recorded ivory-bill calls into the wilderness, hoping for a response.
A new epilogue in the paperback disputes the putative rediscovery of the bird in April 2005.