Birds of North Carolina
their Distribution and Abundance
Scientific Name:
Common Name:
 Family (Alpha):
COLUMBIDAE Members: Passenger Pigeon 12219
General Comments
The extinction of this once abundant species is arguably the gloomiest story in the history of bird conservation on the planet. Hunters shot large numbers of Passenger Pigeons from the sky in the 1800's, and destruction of forests was another factor leading to its demise, as this pigeon nested in large colonies, unlike most other pigeons and doves. The last state records were in Raleigh in 1891 and in Weaverville (Buncombe) in 1894; the last of the species died in the Cincinnati Zoo in 1914. In North Carolina, it was an abundant transient in the mountains and Piedmont, and less so in the Coastal Plain. It wintered to some extent in the state, but most of the pigeons wintered from South Carolina southward. The breeding range was somewhat to the north of the state, as well.
Breeding Status
Extinct; Nonbreeder
NC BRC List
Definitive
State Status
none
U.S. Status
Definitive
State Rank
SX
Global Rank
GX
Coastal Plain
No recent records (see above).
Piedmont
No recent records (see above).
Mountain
No recent records (see above).
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