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Title
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American Ornithology
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Caption
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Alexander Wilson writes fondly of the Carolina Parakeet, America’s only parrot species, but he also discusses how they were a considerable nuisance to farmers. Their appetites lent them to being “destroyed in great numbers, for whilst busily engaged in plucking off the fruits or tearing the grain from the stacks, the husbandman approaches them with perfect ease, and commits great slaughter among them.” To make matters worse, the forests in which these birds lived were cleared in large swaths and their colorful feathers became popular decorations for women’s hats. The last Carolina Parakeet died in captivity at the Cincinnati Zoo in 1918. Aside from their bygone charms, Carolina Parakeets were important seed dispersers, meaning their disappearance negatively affected various seed-bearing plants.
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Creator
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Charles Lucian Bonaparte and Alexander Wilson
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Date Created
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1828
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Publisher
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Carey, Lea & Carey
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Place of Publication
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Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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Rights
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No Known Copyright
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Bibliographic Citation
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Bonaparte, Charles Lucian, and Alexander Wilson. American Ornithology; or, The Natural History of Birds Inhabiting the United States. Vol III. Philadelphia: Carey, Lea & Carey; 1808-1814. Rare Book QL674 .W76
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Filename
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exh-vanishing_AWilson_001.jpeg
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exh-vanishing_AWilson_002.jpeg
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Case Number
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Causes and Consequences of Extinction
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Item Number
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10
