Birds · Columbiformes · Columbidae

Passenger Pigeon

Ectopistes migratorius

Extinct

No living individual remains anywhere in the world. See full glossary

The passenger pigeon — known in Spanish as paloma migratoria, paloma de la Carolina or paloma pasajera — is an extinct bird that belonged to the order Columbiformes, the same group that contains the doves and common pigeons. It is the animal that has suffered the sharpest population decline in recent history, going in a single century from being the most abundant bird in North America to joining the list of extinct species. Its great flocks of thousands of birds blotted out light and warmth as they passed, and the beating of their wings produced a breeze and a roar.

Weight

260 g – 340 g

Size

39 cm – 41 cm

Lifespan

15 years

Diet

Herbivore

Feeds mainly on plants.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Social structure

Colony

Lives in large concentrations, often for breeding reasons.

Sighting difficulty

Impossible (extinct)

Temperate forestHerbivore Diurnal Colonial Bird Temperate forest

3countries11same family

Fun facts

GeneralIt was the most abundant bird on the planet, in flocks of thousands of millions; the last one died in 1914.
It is the most frequently cited case of the extinction of a hyperabundant species: it went from billions of individuals to none in half a century, and stands as a warning that abundance protects against nothing.
The last individual, a female called Martha, died at Cincinnati Zoo on 1 September 1914 at one in the afternoon: it is one of the few extinctions whose exact hour is known.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)
Habitat & environment: Deciduous forest of oak, beech and chestnut of eastern North America
Gestation / incubation: 13 days of incubation
Litter / clutch size: 1 egg

Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ectopistes_migratorius