No evidence suggesting the Ivory-billed Woodpeckers even came close to Minnesota; their dependence on very extensive forests of Cyprus stands argues against it. The recent discovery in Arkansas in 2005-2006 by Jim Fitzpatrick was debated by skeptics who pronounced it as likely a misidentified Pilated Woodpecker. Note the all black back and upper surface of the closed wings and a dark slate-colored beak (Ivory-billeds have extensive white patches on their shoulders and upper wing surfaces); white, however, is extensive on the underwings of the Pileated; visible only when the wings are spread – this is unquestionably the explanation for misidentification. Pileated Woodpeckers are widespread and relatively across North America in extensive mature forests where they feed primarily on carpenter ants and beetle larvae. They even occur in the more wooded metropolitan suburbs and river bottom forests.

The recent reported rediscovery of the believed extinct Ivory-billed Woodpecker by my friend prompts me to select this Pilated Woodpecker for comparison with its more famous relative, and eliminate any doubt that the Ivory-billed Woodpecker ever was found in Minnesota. I have had a few people inform me that they believed having seen them in the state!
– Dick Oehlenschlager, Biology