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The passenger pigeon or wild pigeon ... New York, killed 4,000 pigeons in a day solely for this purpose. [101] Painting of a male, K. Hayashi, c. 1900.
Columbicola extinctus, also known as the passenger pigeon chewing louse, is an extant species of phtilopterid louse. It was once believed to have become extinct with its only known host, the passenger pigeon ( Ectopistes migratorius ), prior to its rediscovery living on band-tailed pigeons ( Patagioenas fasciata ).
Passenger pigeon, Ectopistes migratorius (eastern North America, 1914) The passenger pigeon was once among the most abundant wild bird species in the world, with a single flock numbering up to 2.2 billion birds. It was hunted close to extinction for food and sport in the late 19th century.
The birds were killed in great numbers, and a widespread pigeon meat industry developed. Some environmental legislation was put into place to protect the declining passenger pigeon, but it did little to improve their populations. Due to their congregational breeding habits, captive breeding was nigh impossible, and populations further ...
Several species of wild pigeons and doves are used as food; however, all types are edible. [51] In Europe, the wood pigeon is commonly shot as a game bird, [52] The extinction of the passenger pigeon in North America was at least partly due to shooting for use as food. [53]
It was also formerly known as the "Carolina turtledove" and the "Carolina pigeon". [19] The "mourning" part of its common name comes from its doleful call. [20] The mourning dove was thought to be the passenger pigeon's closest living relative on morphological grounds [21] [22] until genetic analysis showed Patagioenas pigeons are more closely ...
The use of certain plants and animals for food has also resulted in their extinction, including silphium and the passenger pigeon. [205] It was estimated in 2012 that 13% of Earth's ice-free land surface is used as row-crop agricultural sites, 26% used as pastures, and 4% urban-industrial areas. [206]
Whitman kept these pigeons to study their behavior, along with rock doves and Eurasian collared-doves. [6] Whitman and the Cincinnati Zoo, recognizing the decline of the wild populations, attempted to consistently breed the surviving birds, including attempts at making a rock dove foster passenger pigeon eggs. [7]