passenger pigeon: see pigeon pigeon, common name for members of the large family Columbidae, land birds, cosmopolitan in temperate and tropical regions, characterized by stout bodies, short necks, small heads, and thick, heavy plumage.
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Extinct species (Ectopistes migratorius) of pigeon (subfamily Columbinae, family Columbidae). Passenger pigeons were about 13 in. (32 cm) long and had a long pointed tail; the male was pinkish, with a blue-gray head. Billions inhabited eastern North America in the early 19th century; migrating flocks darkened the skies for days at a time. Gunners began to slaughter them in huge numbers for shipping by railway carloads for sale in city meat markets. Martha, the last known passenger pigeon, died in 1914 in the Cincinnati Zoo. The bird's extinction was largely responsible for ending the marketing of game birds and gave major impetus to the conservation movement.
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passenger pigeon
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Passenger pigeon, mounted (Ectopistes migratorius)
(credit: Bill Reasons—The National Audubon Society Collection/Photo Researchers)
passenger pigeon
hunted to extinction by 1914; vast numbers once darkened American skies during migratory flights. [Ecology: EB, VII: 786]
See : Extinction
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