*Ø* Blogmanac September 1, 1914 | The death of Martha, last passenger pigeon
The pigeons were picked up and piled in heaps, until each [hunter] had as many as he could possibly dispose of, when the hogs were let loose to feed on the remainder.
John James Audubon, Birds of America
When the birds appear all the male inhabitants of the neighborhood leave their customary occupations as farmers, bark-peelers, oil-scouts, wildcatters, and tavern loafers, and join in the work of capturing and marketing the game. The Pennsylvania law very plainly forbids the destruction of the pigeons on their nesting grounds, but no one pays any attention to the law, and the nesting birds have been killed by thousands and tens of thousands.Forest and Stream, 1886
USA: The last Passenger pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius), named Martha after the wife of George Washington, died in the Cincinnati Zoo. At one time, the population of this Northern Hemisphere bird might have numbered five billion, and some sources say nine. It was certainly the most populous bird in the Americas, and probably the world.
One 19th century observer watched as they flew overhead in a mass that darkened the whole sky for hours. By calculating the speed of their flight he estimated that the flock was one mile wide and 240 miles long. Alexander Wilson, the father of scientific ornithology in America, estimated that one flock consisted of two billion birds. In Kentucky, Wilson's rival, John James Audubon, watched a flock pass overhead for three days and estimated that at times more than 300 million pigeons flew by him each hour.
Passenger pigeons were shot for food, and untold thousands were shot for ‘sport’. In one competition, a participant had to kill 30,000 pigeons just to be considered for a prize. In 1896, almost all of the remaining quarter million passenger pigeons were killed in a single day by sport hunters, who knew they were shooting the last wild flock.
Lots more on these fascinating birds
Passenger Pigeon Society
More
Listen to John Herald's song, Martha, Last of the Passenger Pigeons
The pigeons were picked up and piled in heaps, until each [hunter] had as many as he could possibly dispose of, when the hogs were let loose to feed on the remainder.
John James Audubon, Birds of America
When the birds appear all the male inhabitants of the neighborhood leave their customary occupations as farmers, bark-peelers, oil-scouts, wildcatters, and tavern loafers, and join in the work of capturing and marketing the game. The Pennsylvania law very plainly forbids the destruction of the pigeons on their nesting grounds, but no one pays any attention to the law, and the nesting birds have been killed by thousands and tens of thousands.Forest and Stream, 1886
USA: The last Passenger pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius), named Martha after the wife of George Washington, died in the Cincinnati Zoo. At one time, the population of this Northern Hemisphere bird might have numbered five billion, and some sources say nine. It was certainly the most populous bird in the Americas, and probably the world.
One 19th century observer watched as they flew overhead in a mass that darkened the whole sky for hours. By calculating the speed of their flight he estimated that the flock was one mile wide and 240 miles long. Alexander Wilson, the father of scientific ornithology in America, estimated that one flock consisted of two billion birds. In Kentucky, Wilson's rival, John James Audubon, watched a flock pass overhead for three days and estimated that at times more than 300 million pigeons flew by him each hour.
Passenger pigeons were shot for food, and untold thousands were shot for ‘sport’. In one competition, a participant had to kill 30,000 pigeons just to be considered for a prize. In 1896, almost all of the remaining quarter million passenger pigeons were killed in a single day by sport hunters, who knew they were shooting the last wild flock.
Lots more on these fascinating birds
Passenger Pigeon Society
More
Listen to John Herald's song, Martha, Last of the Passenger Pigeons
Pip Wilson posted item above at 3:27 PM | Permalink
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