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The passenger Pigeon is a slightly different case
to that of the House Sparrow. However the Passenger Pigeon suffered from changes
to its habitat as well as shooting. It is estimated that there was once 5
billion of these birds which would fly in flocks so vast that they would block
out the sun for hours as they passed. Their main food source came from
trees like Acorns, Chestnuts and Beechnuts. The female would lay only one egg
per year. for the first couple of centuries of european occupation, shooting,
clubbing and netting took place, but the population was not yet large enough to
have a tell-tale effect. Then came the railways. . .
Between 1860 and 1870 the shooting of these birds
was being carried out to such a degree that several millions of carcasses of
these birds were being sent from the frontier states to the east for the
meat market every week! Meanwhile, the great
Acorn, Chestnut and Beech forests of the north were chopped down for timber and
to make way for farmland and growing cities. It was all totally unsustainable.
The last wild bird seen was in Ohio in 1900. The last captive bird died in
1914.
It's a heartbreaking story of great ignorance and
stupidity and you have to ask how could such a mentality exist. You might even
breathe a sigh of relief and say "Thank God, we've changed". Sadly, I
reckon we haven't changed one bit.
Ricki
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