The morphologically similar mourning dove (Zenaida macroura) was long thought. The scientific name also refers to its migratory characteristics. Its common name is derived from the French word passager, meaning 'passing by', due to the migratory habits of the species. The passenger pigeons' tendency to cluster in such staggering numbers - in the millions - was their Achilles' heel. The passenger pigeon or wild pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius) is an extinct species of pigeon that was endemic to North America. The down-beating of hundreds of millions of wings created drafts. People who had never seen the phenomenon before fell to their knees in prayer, thinking the end times had come. "And as more time passed, they were plunged into darkness. "As time went on it became clear that those clouds were birds," says Greenberg. One report from Ohio in 1854 began when people noticed strange clouds forming on the horizon. According to Joel Greenberg, who just wrote a book about it, their flocks used to darken the skies of North America. The common Rock Pigeon (that we see in most large cities) does not even number 200 million. ![]() The passenger pigeon's demise was dramatic. The passenger pigeon, which numbered from 3.5 to 5 billion, was hunted to extinction in about 80 years. ![]() (A group of scientists wants to bring the passenger pigeon back from extinction, but they haven't yet.) And you could know, when she dies, there goes the species," James says. "There she was alive you could go and see her. Why the obsession with this one bird? James says a lot of animals have gone extinct, but it's rare to be able to go to the zoo and look the last one in the eyes.
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