Pigeons, they are everywhere.
If you take a walk in downtown Toronto you will most likely see a couple within
the block, these animals live wherever they want. There are several species of
these pigeons, and today we shall talk about the passenger pigeon.
The name of "passenger" pigeons is refereed as a French word "passager" which means passing by. During the 19th century, these birds were THE MOST abundant bird in North America, possibly even the world. They migrate in huge flocks that have over 3.5 billion birds, it could even blacken the sky! If accurate, that number would be representing a large faction of the entire population at it's time.
The Government at that period of time had decided to hunt down these birds and pigeon meat were used as cheat food for slaves and the poor. There had been ZERO worries concerning the population of the passenger pigeon as you could literally shoot one down if you randomly aim at the sky. These birds are one of the most sociable birds of all times, without a large flock, they wouldn't be able to communicate with each other. Their diet consists of all kinds of nuts such as acorn and chestnuts, sometimes even berries.
As the years go on with the constant hunting and commercial exploitation of passenger pigeon meat at a massive scale, the population of these birds start to decline; moreover, deforestation increased rapidly during the 1900s, the bird's habitat had reached to a certain size where there is not enough space for the passenger birds to migrate and reproduce. Conversationalists set up bills that it became illegal to net pigeons within two miles, but this was weakly enforced.
By the mid-1990s, the passenger pigeon total population almost completely disappeared. At last there were only 1 passenger pigeon left in the entire world, it's name was Martha. She was kept in Cincinnati Zoo and was named as the loneliest bird ever; she died in September 1st, 1914. This was the end of the most abundant bird in the world. This year - 2014 is the 100th anniversary of remembrance of the passenger bird.
After hearing this story told by our tour-guide, I felt extremely depressed as to know that humans have the power to wipe out a species that was abundant. Who knows which abundant species would go extinct next with all these global warming and loss of animal habitat from deforestation. This story needs to be heard by a lot more people, as far as i know; most people don't even know about the passenger bird's legacy.
The name of "passenger" pigeons is refereed as a French word "passager" which means passing by. During the 19th century, these birds were THE MOST abundant bird in North America, possibly even the world. They migrate in huge flocks that have over 3.5 billion birds, it could even blacken the sky! If accurate, that number would be representing a large faction of the entire population at it's time.
The Government at that period of time had decided to hunt down these birds and pigeon meat were used as cheat food for slaves and the poor. There had been ZERO worries concerning the population of the passenger pigeon as you could literally shoot one down if you randomly aim at the sky. These birds are one of the most sociable birds of all times, without a large flock, they wouldn't be able to communicate with each other. Their diet consists of all kinds of nuts such as acorn and chestnuts, sometimes even berries.
As the years go on with the constant hunting and commercial exploitation of passenger pigeon meat at a massive scale, the population of these birds start to decline; moreover, deforestation increased rapidly during the 1900s, the bird's habitat had reached to a certain size where there is not enough space for the passenger birds to migrate and reproduce. Conversationalists set up bills that it became illegal to net pigeons within two miles, but this was weakly enforced.
By the mid-1990s, the passenger pigeon total population almost completely disappeared. At last there were only 1 passenger pigeon left in the entire world, it's name was Martha. She was kept in Cincinnati Zoo and was named as the loneliest bird ever; she died in September 1st, 1914. This was the end of the most abundant bird in the world. This year - 2014 is the 100th anniversary of remembrance of the passenger bird.
After hearing this story told by our tour-guide, I felt extremely depressed as to know that humans have the power to wipe out a species that was abundant. Who knows which abundant species would go extinct next with all these global warming and loss of animal habitat from deforestation. This story needs to be heard by a lot more people, as far as i know; most people don't even know about the passenger bird's legacy.
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