The Great Slaty Woodpecker, once the largest woodpecker in India, is now the largest woodpecker in the world.

This is because of the extinction of its western relative, the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker. The bird was last seen in 1944, and recently has been declared extinct.

A kayaker reported in 2004 that he had seen the bird, but it has neither been proven, nor has another definitive sighting occurred since.

The Ivory-Billed Woodpecker is identified by its distinctive, contrasting black, white and red colouring. It was an icon of south-east USA.

The reason why it was not declared extinct so long was because keeping it on a list of critically-endangered species brings attention to it and keeps people on the lookout for the species.

 

The Great Slaty Woodpecker is a vulnerable species on the IUCN Red List, due to habitat loss. Without proper conservation measures, its fate may be similar to that of its cousin.