Definitions
billed [bild]

ivory-billed woodpecker

[ahy-vuh-ree-bild, ahy-vree-]

Ivory-billed woodpeckers (Campephilus principalis).

Black-and-white woodpecker (Campephilus principalis) with a flaring crest (red on the male) and a long whitish bill. The largest North American woodpecker, it was thought to be extinct, though there were unconfirmed sightings of the bird in the southern United States in the late 1990s; a small population on Cuba was last seen in the late 1980s. In 2005, however, researchers announced that it had been sighted in eastern Arkansas. The species' decline coincided with the logging of virgin forest, where it subsisted on deadwood insects. A subspecies, the Cuban ivory-billed woodpecker, is also believed to be extinct. A related species, the imperial woodpecker of Mexico, is critically endangered. All these birds appear to have required large trees and isolation from disturbance.

Learn more about ivory-billed woodpecker with a free trial on Britannica.com.

or duckbill

Monotreme amphibious mammal (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) of lakes and streams in eastern Australia and Tasmania. About 23 in. (60 cm) long, the squat-bodied platypus has a ducklike snout, short legs, webbed feet, and a beaverlike tail. Each day it eats nearly its own weight in crustaceans, fishes, frogs, mollusks, tadpoles, and earthworms; lacking teeth, it crushes its food with ridges in the bill. The female lays one to three eggs in a nest in a long twisting passage above the waterline. The young are weaned about four months after hatching. The male's heel bears a spur connected to a poison-secreting gland. Large fishes and perhaps snakes prey on platypuses. Formerly trapped for their dense, soft fur, they are now protected by law.

Learn more about platypus with a free trial on Britannica.com.

White-billed may refer to:

  • White-billed Buffalo-weaver, resident breeding bird species in most of Africa south of the Sahara Desert
  • White-billed Crow, short and stocky forest bird with a squared off tail and a relatively large head with a very distinctive ivory coloured bill
  • White-billed Diver, the largest member of the loon or diver family

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