my dad was a very serious bird watcher. in fact i still have his old roger tory peterson field guide with his killer life list in the back. anyway, i can remember being fascinated as a child by the question of whether the ivory-billed woodpecker (amazing cousin to the pileated) was extinct. dad always said you'd be shocked what lives in these swamps and that he still believed there might be a population stashed away somewhere, despite the fact that the last confirmed sighting was in the 20s. turned out he was right . what an excellent thing.