The passenger pigeon (贰肠迟辞辫颈蝉迟别蝉鈥痬颈驳谤补迟辞谤颈耻蝉) once migrated in flocks鈥痮f 3 to 5 billion,鈥痭umbers great enough to black out the sky, but by 1914, the last of its kind,鈥痭amed鈥�淢artha,鈥� passed away at the Cincinnati Zoo. Martha had been the last passenger pigeon alive in captivity, while the last known wild passenger pigeon reportedly died鈥痮ut鈥痠n Ohio in 1900. The day that Martha died, the long legacy of the once most populous bird species in鈥痶he world鈥痚nded,鈥痑fter just 50 years of rapid population decline.鈥�
Deforestation of the eastern U.S. for farming and lumber over the course of the 19th鈥痗entury diminished the mixed hardwood forests that huge flocks of passenger pigeons relied on for food, wintering grounds, and nesting habitat. In鈥痵earch of food, pigeons flocked to farmer鈥檚 fields,鈥痺ho killed them in retaliation鈥痜or damaging crops. This鈥痩ed鈥痶o the passenger pigeon becoming鈥痑 staple American dish鈥撎齱hile鈥痯opulations were still鈥痯lentiful.鈥疉s a鈥痗olonial鈥痵pecies, passenger pigeons relied on safety in numbers as a mechanism of defense, and as a result,鈥痗ommercial hunters routinely trapped hundreds of pigeons at a time.听(Interesting note:鈥痶he term 鈥榮tool鈥痯igeon鈥� comes from the practice of tying a passenger鈥痯igeon鈥檚 foot to a stool so that it鈥檚 fluttering wings would attract the rest of the flock, betraying them to the waiting hunters.)鈥�
Implementation of railroads allowed鈥痜or听industrial-scale鈥痶ransport鈥痮f鈥痟undreds of thousands of pigeons per year to markets across the country, which had devastating effects. By听the time Americans realized the pigeons鈥� dramatically lower population numbers, the damage was irreversible. Nonetheless, in efforts to prevent similar extinctions, the tragic fate of the passenger pigeon inspired the United States government to pass the first wave of wildlife protection laws, including the Lacey Act, the Weeks-McLean Act, and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which granted protection to birds alongside their eggs, nests, and feathers.鈥����
At the University of Colorado鈥疢useum of鈥疦atural History, we are fortunate enough to house鈥痜ive听rare passenger pigeon specimens鈥痮f the鈥�1,190鈥痯assenger鈥痯igeon鈥痵pecimens left on earth.鈥疶his鈥痵pecimen (UCM:鈥疊ird:14503) was acquired by Charles E. Aiken in the spring of 1886 when he purchased the鈥痩ive bird at a marketplace in Chicago.听Originally, the pigeon was wild caught in either Wisconsin or Michigan. Though the passenger pigeon is extinct today, specimens preserved in museum collections allow听researchers the opportunity to continue studying the species using methods such as DNA analysis or anatomical observation.鈥��
The听passenger pigeon serves both as a cautionary tale for environmental protection and to highlight the importance of鈥痬useum collections鈥痠n archiving life on earth.鈥�