Passenger Pigeon Conservation status: Extinct (1914)
An 1898 photograph.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Columbiformes Family: Columbidae Genus: Ectopistes Swainson, 1827 Species: E. migratorius
Binomial name
Ectopistes migratorius (Linné, 1766)

The Passenger Pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius) was once probably the most common bird in the world. It is estimated that there were as many as five billion passenger pigeons in the United States. They lived in enormous flocks—the largest of them a mile (1.6 km) wide and 300 miles (500 km) long, taking several days to pass and probably containing two billion birds. 1914 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... passenger pigeon 1898 photograph of this extinct species by Mr Hubbard. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ... Phyla Porifera (sponges) Ctenophora (comb jellies) Cnidaria Placozoa Bilateria  Acoelomorpha  Orthonectida  Rhombozoa  Myxozoa  Superphylum Deuterostomia     Chordata (vertebrates, etc. ... Typical Classes Subphylum Urochordata - Tunicates Ascidiacea Thaliacea Larvacea Subphylum Cephalochordata - Lancelets Subphylum Myxini - Hagfishes Subphylum Vertebrata - Vertebrates Petromyzontida - Lampreys Placodermi (extinct) Chondrichthyes - Cartilaginous fishes Acanthodii (extinct) Actinopterygii - Ray-finned fishes Actinistia - Coelacanths Dipnoi - Lungfishes Amphibia - Amphibians Reptilia - Reptiles Aves - Birds Mammalia - Mammals Chordates (phylum Chordata) include the vertebrates, together with... Orders Many - see section below. ... Families Raphidae Columbidae The order Columbiformes includes two families of birds: the Raphidae, to which the extinct Dodo and Rodrigues Solitaires belonged, and the Columbidae, which includes the very widespread and successful doves and pigeons. ... Genera Subfamily Columbinae Columba Nesoenas Streptopelia Macropygia Reinwardtoena Turacoena Turtur Oena Chalcophaps Henicophaps Phaps Ocyphaps Geophaps Petrophassa Geopelia Leucosarcia Zenaida Ectopistes (extinct) Columbina Claravis Metropelia Scardafella Uropelia Leptotila Geotrygon Starnoenas Caloenas Gallicolumba Trugon Microgoura (extinct?) Subfamily Otidiphabinae Otidiphaps Subfamily Gourinae Goura Subfamily Didunculinae Didunculus Subfamily Treroninae Phapitreron Treron Ptilinopus Drepanoptila... William Swainson (October 8, 1789 - December 6, 1855), was an English ornithologist and artist. ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is a standard convention used for naming species. ... A painting of Carolus Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus, also known after his ennoblement as Carl von Linné  listen, and who wrote under the Latinized name Carolus Linnaeus (May 23, 1707 – January 10, 1778), was a Swedish botanist who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of taxonomy. ... 1766 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Orders Many - see section below. ...

During summer, Passenger Pigeons lived throughout the part of Northern America that is east of the Rocky Mountains. In the winter, they lived in the southern US. Rocky Mountain National Park (photo courtesy of NPS) The Rocky Mountains, often called the Rockies, are a broad mountain range in western North America. ...

The Passenger Pigeon was a very social bird. It lived in colonies with up to a hundred nests in a single tree, and stretching over hundreds of square miles.

It was hunted for food, for hog feed, and shipped to the cities: in New York in 1805 a brace of pigeons went for two cents. But in the mid-1800s it was noticeable that their numbers were dropping. The passenger pigeon only laid one egg at a time, so once numbers started to decline it would have taken time for them to start rising again. Almost all of the remaining quarter-million Passenger Pigeons were killed in a single day in 1896 by "sport" hunters, who knew they were shooting the last wild flock. The last wild Passenger Pigeon was shot in Ohio in 1900. Midtown Manhattan, looking north from the Empire State Building, 2005 New York City (officially named the City of New York) is the most populous city in the state of New York and the entire United States. ... Events and Trends Beginning of the Napoleonic Wars (1803 - 1815). ... 1896 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... This article is about the hunting of prey by human society. ... State nickname: The Buckeye State Other U.S. States Capital Columbus Largest city Columbus Governor Bob Taft Official languages None Area 116,096 km² (34th)  - Land 106,154 km²  - Water 10,044 km² (8. ... 1900 is a common year starting on Monday. ...

The last Passenger Pigeon, named Martha, died in the Cincinnati Zoo on September 1, 1914. She was frozen into a block of ice to be sent to the Smithsonian Institution to be skinned and mounted. She may be seen there today. Martha (Judæo-Aramaic מַרְתָּא Martâ The lady, French Sainte Marthe) is a biblical figure of whom no historical facts outside of it are known. ... Located in Cincinnati, Ohio, the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens is the second oldest zoo in the United States, opened in 1875. ... September 1 is the 244th day of the year (245th in leap years). ... 1914 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... The Smithsonian castle The Smithsonian Institution is a museum complex with most of its facilities in Washington D.C.. It consists of 19 museums and seven research centers, and has 142 million items in its collections. ...

See also: Extinct birds. Artists rendition of a Giant Haasts eagle attacking New Zealand moas. ...

External link

Songbird Foundation: Passenger Pigeon