The passenger pigeon or wild pigeon is an extinct species of pigeon that was endemic to North America. Its common name is derived from the French word passager, meaning "passing by", due to the migratory habits of the species. The scientific name also refers to its migratory characteristics. The morphologically similar mourning dove was long thought to be its closest relative, and the two were at times confused, but genetic analysis has shown that the genus Patagioenas is more closely related to it than the Zenaida doves.
Passenger pigeon
Earliest published illustration of the species (a male), Mark Catesby, 1731
Mounted male passenger pigeon, Field Museum of Natural History
Band-tailed pigeon, a species in the related genus Patagioenas
Bird extinction is the complete elimination of all species members under the taxonomic class, Aves. Out of all known bird species,, 159 (1.4%) have become extinct, with 226 (2%) being critically endangered. There is a general consensus among ornithologists that if anthropogenic activities continue as current trends suggest, one-third of all bird species, and an even greater proportion of bird populations, will be rendered extinct by the end of the 21st century.
2 taxidermized extinct birds, the Passenger Pigeon & Carolina Parakeet
A taxidermized Great Auk
Tasmanian Emu
Image: Animal life in the sea and on the land (1887) (14780637625)
