Carolina Parakeet
From Free net encyclopedia
{{Taxobox | color = pink | name = Carolina Parakeet | status = Conservation status: Extinct{{#if:{{{when|}}}| (1918) }} | image = Brd CarPar Audubon.jpg | regnum = Animalia | phylum = Chordata | classis = Aves | ordo = Psittaciformes | familia = Psittacidae | genus = Conuropsis | genus_authority = Salvadori, 1891 | species = C. carolinensis | binomial = Conuropsis carolinensis | binomial_authority = (Linneaus, 1758) }}
Image:Karolinasittich 01.jpg The Carolina Parakeet (Conuropsis carolinensis) was the only parrot species native to the eastern United States. It was found from the Ohio Valley to the Gulf of Mexico, and lived in old forests along rivers. It was the only extinct species at the time classified in genus Conuropsis.
The Carolina Parakeet died out because of a number of different threats. To make space for more agricultural land, large areas of forest were cut down, taking away its living space. The colorful feathers (green body, yellow head, and red around the bill) were in demand as decorations in ladies' hats, and the birds were kept as pets. Even though the birds bred easily in captivity, little was done by owners to increase the population of tamed birds. Finally, they were killed in large numbers because farmers considered them a pest, although many farmers valued them for controlling invasive cockleburs.
A factor that contributed to their extinction was the unfortunate flocking behavior that led them to return immediately to a location where some of the birds had just been killed. This led to even more being shot by hunters as they gathered about the wounded and dead members of the flock.
The last wild specimen was killed in Okeechobee County in Florida in 1913, and the last captive bird died at the Cincinnati Zoo in 1918. This was the male specimen "Incas," who died within a year of his mate "Lady Jane."
In 1937, a parakeet was sighted and filmed in the Okefenokee swamp of Georgia that was claimed to be a Carolina parakeet. However, the Audobon Society concluded after analyzing of the film that it probably wasn't a Carolina Parakeet. Additional reports of the bird were made from Okeechobee County in Florida after 1918, but are not confirmed.
The Louisiana subspecies of the Carolina Parakeet was slightly different in color to the parent species and went extinct in much the same way.
About 700 skins are housed in museums around the world.
Although the extinction of the Carolina Parakeet represents the irrevocable loss of North America's only truly naturalized parrot, in the 1960's through 1990's, an introduced species, Myiopsitta Monachas, otherwise known as the Quaker Parakeet, Monk Parakeet, or Monk Parrot, began establishing flocks in several states, including New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Florida, Louisiana, and Texas through accidental or intentional releases.
See also: Extinct birds