A Message from Martha
A new book looks at the fate of the passenger pigeon, a century after the extinction of the species.
September 1st of this year marked the 100th anniversary of one of the most astounding extinctions in history. On that day in 1914, a Passenger Pigeon died at the Cincinnati Zoo. Her name was Martha and she was the very last of her kind. But only 50 years earlier, they were the most numerous species of bird on the planet. The passenger pigeon - native to the United States and southern Canada - was so abundant that massive flocks were many miles long and so dense they obscured the sky. The story of how this species went from many billions to just one in such a short time is chronicled in the new book, A Message From Martha: The Extinction of The Passenger Pigeon and Its Relevance Today, by British scientist and naturalist Dr. Mark Avery.
Related Links
- A Message from Martha (publisher's site)
- Smithsonian magazine article on the passenger pigeon
- Environment 360 essay on the passenger pigeon
- The Guardian review
- The Independent review