Passenger Pigeon

Introduction to Passenger Pigeon

The passenger pigeon was once the most common bird in North America. There were billions of them. But then they disappeared. This is their story.

It was once the most common bird in the continent, but then it disappeared. There were billions of them before they vanished.

Extinction Causes of Passenger Pigeon

The Passenger Pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius) was once the most abundant bird in North America, with populations estimated to exceed 3 billion birds. The species was so numerous that it was described as the “cloud of pigeons” that would darken the sky. The Passenger Pigeon was a migratory bird that bred in the northeastern United States and Canada and migrated to the southeastern United States and the Caribbean in the winter.

The primary cause of the Passenger Pigeon’s extinction was humans. The birds were hunted for food and sport, and their large flocks were easy targets. The birds were also killed by deforestation, which reduced their breeding and wintering habitats. The last wild Passenger Pigeon was shot in 1900, and the last captive bird died in 1914.