Abstract
Extinction of the Passenger Pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius) is unique not only because of its rapid decline from being one of the world’s most abundant birds, but also because a considerable amount of information on the bird’s natural history is available in the records of early naturalists, travelers, and even the press. This information, a great part of which has been reviewed and summarized in Schorger’s (1955) monumental work, allows a detailed analysis of the factors that may have led to the species’ extinction and helps to reduce the number of plausible explanations. Beyond the intellectual challenge of such an analysis, an explanation of the causes of the Passenger Pigeon extinction may provide insights that are helpful in current efforts to prevent the extinction of many endangered species.
Keywords
- Social Facilitation
- Breeding Attempt
- Mast Productivity
- Minimal Viable Population
- Eastern Forest
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.
Buying options
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Addicott, J. F., Aho, J. M., Antolin, M. F., Padilla, D. K., Richardson, J. S., and Soluk, D. A., 1987, Ecological neighborhoods: scaling environmental patterns, Oikos 49:340–346.
Andersson, M., and Erlinge, S., 1977, Influence of predation on rodent populations, Oikos 29:591–597.
Arendt, W. J., Vargas Mora, T. A., and Wiley, J. W., 1979, White-crowned Pigeon: Status rangewide and in the Dominican Republic, Proc. Annu. Conf. S.E. Assoc. Wildl. Agencies 33:111–122.
Bailey, R. G., 1981, Ecoregions of North America (map), U.S. Rish and Wildlife Service, Office of Biological Services, Eastern Energy and Land Use Team, Washington, D.C.
Blockstein, D. E., 1989, Crop milk and clutch size in Mourning Doves, Wilson Bull. 101:11–25.
Blockstein, D. E., and Tordoff, H. B., 1985, A contemporary look at the extinction of the Passenger Pigeon, Am. Birds 39:845–852.
Braun, E. L., 1950, Deciduous Forests of Eastern North America, Klakiston, Philadelphia.
Bromley, S. W., 1935, The original forest types of Southern New England, Ecol. Monogr. 5:61–89.
Brown, J. H., 1984, On the relationship between abundance and distribution of species, Am. Nat. 124:255–279.
Brown, J. H., and Maurer, B. A., 1987, Evolution of species assemblages: Effects of energetic constraints and species dynamics on the diversification of the North American Avifauna, Am. Nat. 130:1–17.
Brown, J. H., Calder, W. A., and Kodrick-Brown, A., 1978, Correlates and consequences of body size in nectar-feeding birds, Am. Zool. 18:687–700.
Bucher, E. H., 1974, Bases ecológicas para el control de la paloma torcaza, Centro de Zoología Aplicada, Universidad de Córdoba, Argentina, Publicación No. 4.
Bucher, E. H., 1982, Colonial breeding of the Eared Dove (Zenaida auriculata) in Northeastern Brazil, Biotropica 14:255–261.
Bucher, E. H., 1984, Las aves como plaga en Argentina, Centro de Zoología Aplicada, Universidad de Córdoba, Argentina, Publicación No. 9.
Bucher, E. H., 1989, The influence of changes in regional land-use patterns on Zenaida doves populations, in: Granivorous Birds in the Agricultural Landscape (J. Pinowsky and J. D. Summers-Smith, eds.), Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, pp. 291–303.
Bucher, E. H., and Orueta, A., 1977, Ecología de la reproducción de la paloma Zenaida auriculata. II. Epoca de cría, suceso y productividad en las colonias de nidificación de Córdoba, Ecosur (Argentina) 4:157–185.
Curtiss, J. T., 1959, TheVegetation of Wisconsin, University of Wisconsin Press, Madison.
Drewien, R. C., Vernimen, R. J., Harris, S. W, and Yocom, C. F., 1966, Spring weights of Band-tailed Pigeons, J. Wildl. Manage. 30:190–192.
Eiserer, M., 1984, Communal roosting in birds, Bird Behaviour 5:61–80.
Elgar, M., and Harvey, P., 1987, Colonial information, Trends Ecol. Evol. 2:34.
Forbush, E. H., 1929, Birds of Massachusetts and Other New England States, Part 2, Land Birds from Bob-whites to Grackles, Massachusetts Department of Agriculture, Boston.
Ford, J. E., and Hewitt, D., 1979, Protein quality in cereals and pulse, 3. Bioassays with rats and chickens on sorghum, barley, and field beans, and the influence PEG on digestibility of protein in high tannin grain, Br. J. Nutr. 42:325–340.
Goodman, D., 1987, The demography of chance extinction, in: Viable Populations for Conservation (M.E. Soule, ed.), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 11–34.
Goodrum, P. D., Reid, V. H., and Boyd, C. E., 1971, Acorn yields, characteristics, and management criteria of oaks for wildlife, J. Wildl. Manage. 35:520–532.
Goodwin, D., 1970, Pigeons and Doves of the World, British Museum (Natural History), London.
Greenway, J. C, Jr., 1967, Extinct and Vanishing Birds of the World, Dover Publications, New York.
Gysel, L. W., 1971, A 10-year analysis of beechnut production and use in Michigan, J. Wildl. Manage. 35:516–519.
Halliday, T. R., 1980, The extinction of the Passenger Pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius) and its relevance to contemporary conservation, Biol. Conserv. 17:157–162.
Hinde, R. A., 1961, Behavior, in: Biology and Comparative Physiology of Birds, Volume 2 (A.J. Marshall, ed.), Academic Press, New York, pp. 373–441.
Holling, C. S., 1965, The functional response to predators to prey density and its role in mimicry population regulation, Mem. Ent. Soc. Can. 45:1–60.
Hurlbert, S. H., and Chang, C. C. Y, 1983, Ornitholimnology: Effects of grazing by the Andean flamingo (Phoenicoparrus andinus), Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 80:4766–4769.
Irland, L. C., 1982, Wildlands and Woodlots, the Story of New England’s Forests, University Press of New England, Hanover, New Hampshire.
Jaeger, M. M., Bruggers, R. L., Johns, B. E., and Erickson, W. A., 1986, Evidence of itinerant breeding of the Red-billed Quelea (Quelea quelea) in the Ethiopian Rift Valley, Ibis 128:469–482.
Johnson, A. W., and Goodall, J. D., 1967, The Birds of Chile, Platt, Buenos Aires.
Kalm, P., 1911, A description of the wild pigeons which visit the southern English colonies in North America, during certain years, in incredible multitudes, Auk 28:53–66.
Keast, A., 1981, The evolutionary biogeography of Australian birds, in: Ecological Biogeography of Australia, Volume 3 (A. Keast ed.), Monographia Biologicae 41, Junk, The Hague, pp. 1589–1635.
Korpimaki, E., and Norrdahl, K., 1989, Predation of Tengmalm’s owls: Numerical responses, functional responses and dampening impact on population fluctuations of microtines, Oikos 54:154–164.
Kricher, J. C, and Morrison, G., 1988, A Field Guide to Eastern Forests North America, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston.
Lande, R., and Barrowclough, G. F., 1987, Effective population size, genetic variation, and their use of population management, in: Viable Populations for Conservation (M. E. Soule, ed.), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 87–123.
Lester, R. T., and Myers, J. P., 1989, Global warming, climate disruption, and biological diversity, in: Audubon Wildlife Report 1989/1990 (W.J. Chandler, ed.), Academic Press, New York, pp. 177–221.
Lloyd Nielsen, J., 1964, Flock Pigeon in north-western Queensland, Emu 63:342–343.
Macgregor, W. G., and Smith, W. M., 1955, Nesting and reproduction of the Band-tailed Pigeon in California, Calif. Fish Game 41:315–326.
Mershon, W. B., 1907, The Passenger Pigeon, The Outing Publishing Company, New York.
Murton, R. K., and Westwood, N. J., 1977, Avian Breeding Cycles, Clarendon Press, Oxford.
Murton, R. K., Isaacson, A. J., and Westwood, N. J., 1971, The significance of gregarious feeding behaviour and adrenal stress in a population of Wood-pigeons (Columba palumbus), J. Zool. 165:53–84.
Murton, R. K., Bucher, E. H., Nores, M., Gomez, E., and Reartes, L., 1974, The ecology of the Eared Dove (Zenaida auriculata) in Argentina, Condor 76:80–81.
Neff, J. A., 1947, Habits, Food, and Economic Status of the Band-tailed Pigeon, North American Fauna No. 58, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington, D.C.
Newton, I., 1972, Finches, Collins, London.
Palmer, S. E, and Trainer, D. O., 1971, Newcastle disease, in: Infectious and Parasitic Diseases of Wild Birds (J. W. Davis, R. C. Anderson, L. Karstad, and D. O. Trainer, eds.), Iowa State University Press, Ames, pp. 3–16.
Pizzey, G., 1980, A Field Guide to the Birds of Australia, Collins, Sidney.
Purroy, F. P., Rodero, M., and Tomialojc, L., 1984, The ecology of Woodpigeon, Columba palumbus, wintering on the Iberian Peninsula, Acta Ornithol. 20:11–145.
Quinn, J. E, and Hastings, A., 1987, Extinction in subdivided habitats, Conserv. Biol. 1:198–208.
Quinn, J. F., and Hastings, A., 1988, Extinction in subdivided habitats: Reply to Gilpin, Conserv. Biol. 2:293–296.
Russell, E. W. B., and Davis, R. B., 1988, Long-term vegetational response to human disturbance in the northeastern United States, in: Abstracts of the 73rd Annual Meeting, Ecological Society of America, Davis, p. 283.
Schorger, A. W, 1936, The great Wisconsin nesting of 1871, Proc. Linnaean Soc. 48:1–26.
Schorger, A. W, 1951, The migration of the Passenger Pigeon in Wisconsin, Passenger Pigeon 13:101–104 and 144-146.
Schorger, A. W., 1955, The Passenger Pigeon, Its Natural History and Extinction, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman.
Silvertown, J. W., 1980, The evolutionary ecology of mast seeding in trees, Biol. J. Linnean Soc. 14:235–250.
Smith, J. R., 1929, Tree Crops, Harcourt, Brace, New York.
Smith, K. G., 1986, Winter population dynamics of three species of mast-eating birds in the Eastern United States, Wilson Bull. 98:407–418.
Smith, K. G., and Scarlett, T., 1987, Mast production and winter populations of Redheaded Woodpeckers and Blue Jays, J. Wildl. Manage. 5:459–467.
Smith, W. A., 1968, The Band-tailed Pigeon in California, Calif. Fish Game 54:4–16.
Sork, V. L., 1983, Mammalian seed dispersal of pignut hickory during three fruiting seasons, Ecology 64:1049–1056.
Stabler, R. M., and Braun, C. E., 1974, Effect of virulent Trichomonas gallinae on the Band-tailed Pigeon, J. Wildl. Dis. 11:482–483.
Stabler, R. M., and Braun, C. E., 1979, Effects of a California-derived strain of Trichomonas gallinae on Colorado Band-tailed Pigeons, Calif. Fish Game 65:56–58.
Stabler, R. M., and Herman, C. M., 1951, Upper digestive tract trichomoniasis in Mourning Doves and other birds, Trans. North Am. Wildl. Conf. 16:145–163.
Temple, S. A., 1986, The problem of avian extinctions, in: Current Ornithology, Volume 3 (R. F. Johnston, ed.), Plenum Press, New York, pp. 453–485.
Van Dersal, W. R., 1940, Utilization of oaks by birds and mammals, J. Wildl. Manage. 4:404–428.
Wainio, W. W., and Forbes, E. B., 1941, The chemical composition of forest fruits and nuts from Pennsylvania, J. Agric. Res. 62:627–635.
Waltz, E. C., 1982, Resource characteristics and the evolution of information centers, Am. Nat. 119:73–90.
Ward, P., 1965, The breeding ecology of the Black-faced Dioch, Quelea quelea, in Nigeria, Ibis 107:326–349.
Ward, P., 1971, The migration patterns of Quelea quelea in Africa, Ibis 113:275–297.
Ward, P., and Zahavi, A., 1973, The importance of certain assemblages of birds as “information-centres” for food finding, Ibis 115:517–534.
Westmoreland, D., Best, L. B., and Blockstein, D. E., 1986, Multiple brooding as a reproductive strategy: Time-conserving adaptations in Mourning Doves, Auk 103:196–203.
Wiens, J. A., 1989, Spatial scaling in ecology, Func. Ecol. 3:385–397.
Wiens, J. A., and Johnston, R. F, 1977, Adaptive correlates of granivory in birds, in: J. Granivorous Birds in Ecosystems (J. Pinowsky and S. C. Kendeigh, eds.), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 301–340.
Wiens, J. A., Addicot, J. F., Case, T. E., and Diamond, J., 1986, Overview: The importance of spatial and temporal scale in ecological investigations, in: Community Ecology (J. Diamond and T. J. Case, eds.), Harper & Row, New York, pp. 145–153.
Wight, H. M., Mace, R. U., and Batterson, W. N., 1967, Mortality estimates of an adult Band-tailed Pigeon population in Oregon, J. Wildl. Manage. 31:519–525.
Wiley, J. W, 1979, The White-winged Pigeon in Puerto Rico: Status, distribution and movements, J. Wildl. Manage. 43:402–413.
Wiley, J. W., and Wiley, J. B., 1979, The biology of the White-crowned Pigeon, Wildl. Monogr. No. 64.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1992 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Bucher, E.H. (1992). The Causes of Extinction of the Passenger Pigeon. In: Power, D.M. (eds) Current Ornithology. Current Ornithology, vol 9. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-9921-7_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-9921-7_1
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4757-9923-1
Online ISBN: 978-1-4757-9921-7
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive