Martha, the last passenger pigeon died in Cincinnati Zoo on 1 September 1914. At the start of the nineteenth century it is thought that the passenger pigeon was the most abundant bird on the planet.
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT MARTHA'S DAY
According to Catesby’s (1720s) eyewitness account they were seen in huge numbers `In Virginia I have seen fly in such continued trains three days successively, that there was not the least interval in loosing sight of them...’
Tragically, almost two centuries later, they became extinct.
American ornithology or, the natural history of the United States, by Alexander Wilson. Volume V. Philadelphia : Bradford and Inskeep, 1812.
Passenger pigeon, Blue mountain warbler and hemlock.
The birds of America, from drawings made in the United States and their territories, by John James Audubon. Volume 5. Plate 265. New York : Lockwood, 1839.
Interesting selections from animated nature, with illustrative scenery, designed and engraved by William Daniell. London : Cadell & Davies, [1809]
Vorstellung der Vögel in Deutschland, und beiläufig auch einiger fremden, nach ihren Eigenschaften beschrieben von Johann Leonhard Frisch; in Kupfer gebracht, und nach ihren naturlichen Farben dargestellt von Ferdinand Helfreich Frisch. Berlin : Nicolai, 1817. Plate 142
Les pigeons par Madame Knip, neé Pauline de Courcelles. - 2e éd. Tome 1 : Le texte par C.J. Temminck. Paris : Knip, [1808-43] Female plate 60
Male plate 61
North America.The natural history of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands, containing the figures of birds, beasts, fishes, serpents, insects and plants... together with their descriptions in English and French... by Mark Catesby. London : printed at the expense of the author, 1731-43
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