Passenger pigeon

Extinct in 1914

Passenger pigeon in LOST ZOO

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    Passenger pigeon

    Characteristic for the male Passenger pigeon is the colorful plumage: Lower throat and breast are pinkish-rufous and on the side of the neck and the upper mantle are iridescent display feathers.

    Passenger pigeon

    The Passenger pigeon is nomadic, constantly migrating for food, shelter or nesting grounds.

    Passenger pigeon

    The Passenger pigeon is a communally roosting species. The birds roosted in such numbers that often they piled on top of each other’s back.

    Passenger pigeon

    Feeding on beechnuts, acorns and chestnuts, the Passenger pigeon has a very elastic mouth and throat and a joint in the lower bill which allows the bird to swallow acorns whole.

    Passenger pigeon

    The Passenger pigeon was once the most abundant bird in North America, numbering 3-5 billion birds. The migrating flocks are described as being so dense that they blackened the sky. The flocks ranged from only 1m above the ground to as high as 400m, depending on the wind. The birds could fly quickly and adaptable through forests as through open space.

    The Passenger pigeon was one of the most social land birds. When its population numbered 3-5 billion birds, it may have been the most numerous birds on Earth. But in the 19th century, after the Europeans arrived in North America, the pigeons were shot in such great numbers that their population was reduced in a few decades. Furthermore the deforestation by European farmers destroyed the pigeon’s habitat. So it is no wonder that at the end of the 19th century the Passenger pigeon was almost extinct.

    Body length: 39-41cm.

    Body weight: 260-340 g

    Egg & clutch: Single white egg, measuring 40mm by 34mm.

    Habitat: Decidous forest of Eastern North America and bred primarily around the Great Lakes. Within the range, Passenger pigeons constantly migrated in search for food and shelter.

    Food: Mainly beechnuts, acorns and chestnut, but in summer also berries and softer fruits and invertebrates.

    Extinction: Caused by overhunting by men and by habitat destruction by deforestation. In 1901 the last wild Passenger pigeon was shot and the last bird in a zoo died in 1914 at Cincinnati Zoo.

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