| Passenger pigeons Evolved millions of years ago In 1871, 136 million passenger pigeons nested together in Central Wisconsin. On September 1, 1914, Martha, the last passenger pigeon died at the Cincinnati Zoological Garden. |
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A biological storm
Enormous flocks of cooing passenger pigeons darkened skies for hours during their annual migrations. John James Audubon described one flock, a mile wide, which took three hours to pass and contained an estimated 1,115,136,000 birds! A flock of this size would eat 8,712,000 bushels of acorns, beechnuts, fruits, insects, and other grains and fertilize thousands of acres daily.
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This specimen was found shot along the Rock River near Beloit, Wisconsin in the early 1900's. It remained protected in a glass case until 1984 when it was donated anonymously to this Museum. |
Featured animal |
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| Common name | Scientific name |
| passenger pigeon | Ectopistes migratorius |
