birding-aus

Vanishing House Sparrow wrap-up

To: "Cas and LISA Liber (& family)" <>, "birding aus" <>
Subject: Vanishing House Sparrow wrap-up
From: "Ricki Coughlan" <>
Date: Thu, 2 Mar 2006 09:06:06 +1100
The passenger Pigeon is a slightly different case to that of the House Sparrow. However the Passenger Pigeon suffered from changes to its habitat as well as shooting. It is estimated that there was once 5 billion of these birds which would fly in flocks so vast that they would block out the sun for hours as they passed. Their main food source came from trees like Acorns, Chestnuts and Beechnuts. The female would lay only one egg per year. for the first couple of centuries of european occupation, shooting, clubbing and netting took place, but the population was not yet large enough to have a tell-tale effect. Then came the railways. . .
 
Between 1860 and 1870 the shooting of these birds was being carried out to such a degree that several millions of carcasses of these birds were being sent from the frontier states to the east for the meat market every week! Meanwhile, the great Acorn, Chestnut and Beech forests of the north were chopped down for timber and to make way for farmland and growing cities. It was all totally unsustainable. The last wild bird seen was in Ohio in 1900. The last captive bird died in 1914.
 
It's a heartbreaking story of great ignorance and stupidity and you have to ask how could such a mentality exist. You might even breathe a sigh of relief and say "Thank God, we've changed". Sadly, I reckon we haven't changed one bit.
 
Ricki
 
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