Over 3 Billion Birds Have Disappeared Since The 1970s

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Over 3 Billion Birds Have Disappeared Since The 1970s

By Trista - October 9, 2019

23. Great Auk

The great auk is a type of flightless bird related to the alcid. It became extinct in the middle of the 19th century. Although it looks similar to a penguin or a puffin, it is not related to either type of bird.

In fact, when the penguins were discovered later on, sailors named them after the great auk’s binomial name Pinguinus impennis. The Great Auk was an important animal for quite a few Native American cultures who saw it as a vital food source and a symbolic figure. The last two living great auks were killed in Iceland in 1844.

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24. Guadalupe Caracara

Also known as the mourning caracara, the Guadalupe caracara is an extinct bird belonging to the falcon family. This bird of prey is closely related to the southern and crested caracara. Until the 20th century, this bird lived on Guadalupe Island in Mexico.

The Guadalupe caracara was common on the island until the late 1800s. Residents of Guadalupe Island considered the bird to be vicious and evil, leading them to organize a hunting and poisoning expedition. By 1906, the entire species of Guadalupe caracara had been wiped out. This makes this bird one of the few species of animals that was purposely driven to extinction by humans.

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25. Heath Hen

The heath hen is a small bird that is closely related to the greater prairie chicken. This bird is a member of the grouse family and became extinct in 1932. Heath hens were primarily found in coastal areas of North America.

They lived in areas of Florida, New Hampshire, and northern Virginia. Heath hens were very common during colonial times, and their heavy-bodied nature made them ideal for hunting by settlers. Many historians believe that the pilgrims enjoyed eating heath hen on the first Thanksgiving instead of wild turkey. Beginning in the 18th century, heath hens were so easy to find and cheap that they became known as poor man’s food.

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26. Labrador Duck

The Labrador duck was a North American bird that lived in the New England area. It is distinct in that it is the first bird native to North America to become extinct after the Columbia Exchange, which was the period of time where human populations, plants, animals, culture, and ideas were transferred among the Americas, the Old World, and West Africa beginning in the 15th century. The last known Labrador duck was seen in Elmira, New York, in 1878.

The Labrador duck was a sea duck that migrated every year from colder climates like New Jersey and New England for warm, sandy shores in Canada. These birds had small bodies and oblong heads with tiny, beady eyes. Typically the Labrador duck fed on small mollusks and mussels.

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27. Lonchodytes

The Lonchodytes was an aquatic bird that lived on the shores of the Western Interior Seaway. Paleontologists estimate that it lived approximately 70 million years ago during the Maastrichtian era. Fossils were found in Wyoming’s Lance Creek Formation.

This species is an original ancestor for many types of modern birds. The Lonchodytes are related to loons, albatrosses, and pelicans. Additionally, they are ancestors to the contemporary penguins. This bird was known to be a diving bird, as that is how it would dive into the water to grab fish to feed on. The only evidence of the Lonchodytes is a single portion of a foot.

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28. Neanis

Discovered in 1913, the Neanis is a bird species that not much is known about. Paleontologists believe that it is an ancestor of the toucan and the woodpecker. It’s estimated it lived from the Late Wasatchian period to the Early Eocene era.

The Neanis was found in the Green River Formation located in areas of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming. Just one complete but not well-preserved skeleton was found in the early 20th century. Experts estimate that the Neanis was related to the woodpecker and toucan because of the shape of its foot and the placement of its toes. The Neanis has the ability to turn its outer toe backward.

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29. Palaeotringa

The Palaeotringa is a prehistoric bird that was discovered during the late 19th century during a time known as the bone wars. In this era, paleontologists were in competition to find as many fossils as possible in order to make history. Palaeotringa was found in the Hornerstown Formation of New Jersey.

Experts have not been able to determine if the Palaeotringa was present before or after the extinction event of the Cretaceous-Paleogene era. The Palaeotringa was a wading bird that lived on the coasts of the northwestern Atlantic. There are two species of this type of bird: the Palaeotringa vagans and the Palaeotringa littoralis.

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30. Carolina Parakeet

The Carolina parakeet, also known as the Carolina conure, is a now-extinct species of parrot. This bird was a small New World parrot that has a pale beak, bright yellow head, and red-orange face. Carolina parakeets lived primarily in the Midwest, eastern, and plains states in the United States.

This bird is one of just two parrots native to the United States. Evidence of the Carolina parakeet was found in Wisconsin, southern New York, Tennessee, Kentucky, and the Gulf of Mexico. It resided mainly in along swamps and rivers in old-growth forests. The last known Carolina parakeet was seen in the Cincinnati Zoo in 1918. By 1939, this species was declared extinct.

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31. Pelagornis Sandersi

Pelagornis sandersi is a flying bird that went extinct more than 25 million years ago. It lived in North America during the Oligocene epoch’s Chattian age. Only one specimen of Pelagornis sandersi has been discovered.

This bird had a wingspan of more than 24 feet, giving it the largest wingspan of any flying bird that has ever been discovered. Its wingspan is twice the length of a wandering albatross. The Pelagornis sandersi was quite heavy, weighing up to 88 pounds. Many scientists were surprised to discover that because generally, birds of that size cannot fly. Because of its reasonably small body and long wingspan, it was able to fly.

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32. Guadalupe Storm Petrel

Like the Guadalupe caracara, this bird was a native of Guadalupe Island in Mexico. It’s closely related to the Leach’s storm petrel, but is slightly larger and has paler feathers under its wings. Guadalupe storm petrels laid their eggs in 15-inch deep burrows and left them to incubate for around 42 days.

In the late 19th century, cats were introduced to Guadalupe Island, leading to the population of Guadalupe storm petrels being practically decimated. Around 1906, there was still considered to be an abundant amount of birds on the island. The final two Guadalupe storm petrels were collected in 1911, and no other birds of this kind have been seen since.

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33. Passenger Pigeon

Also known as a wild pigeon, the passenger pigeon was a native species of North America. Its closest relative is the mourning dove, which has many similar characteristics. At one time, there were more than 3 billion and even possibly 5 billion passenger pigeons in North America.

The Native Americans hunted passenger pigeons, but their numbers especially began to dwindle when the Europeans arrived in North America in the 19th century. Pigeon meat started being marketed as a cheap food source, so hunting intensified on a massive scale for decades. Intense deforestation also contributed to the extinction of the passenger pigeon. The last type of this bird was killed in 1901.

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34. San Benedicto Rock Wren

The San Benedicto rock wren was a subspecies of the rock wren bird. It was a small perching bird that was a native of San Benedicto Island, located off the coast of Mexico. San Benedicto Island is a volcano.

The San Benedicto rock wren became extinct when the volcano erupted in August 1952. After two weeks, the whole island was covered in ash and pumice, and in some areas, it was piled over 10 feet high. The habitat of the San Benedicto rock wren was destroyed, and none of the birds were even seen again. This is one of the only birds who has not become extinct because of human involvement.

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35. San Clemente Wren

Another wren that has gone extinct in the past century is the San Clemente wren. This bird is a subspecies of the Bewick’s wren. It mainly lived on San Clemente Island, which is off the southern coast of California.

The San Clemente wren was about five and a half inches long and had a wingspan of just over two inches. They had brown and grey plumage and a white stripe above their eyes. The underside of the San Clemente wren was a mixture of white and grey. This bird was common on San Clemente island up until the early 20th century. After goats destroyed the habitat, they began to disappear. The last San Clemente wren was seen in 1941.

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36. Slender-Billed Grackle

The slender-billed grackle was a bird that was native to central Mexico. It was closely related to the great-tailed grackle. This bird lived primarily in the Toluca Valley and the Valley of Mexico.

This bird went extinct near the turn of the 20th century. No slender-billed grackles have been seen since 1910. They typically lived on the borders of lakes and marshes. These birds used aquatic vegetation for nest building. Once the population of Mexico began to grow, they adapted to be able to live in towns and around people. They ate a varied diet of plants, animals, and fruit. Its primary food source was maize, worms, and flies.

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37. Dusky Seaside Sparrow

The dusky seaside sparrow was a subspecies of the seaside sparrow. It lived in Florida along the St. Johns River and the natural salt marshes of Merritt Island. The last known dusky seaside sparrow died on June 1987. This bird was officially marked extinct in December 1990.

The dusky seaside sparrow was first discovered in 1872. It is separate from other seaside sparrows because of its distinct song and dark coloring. Conservationists tried to save the unique species by breeding it with Scott’s seaside sparrows, but the project was unsuccessful due to them only having male dusky seaside sparrows to work with.

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38. Tytthostonyx

Not much is known about the Tytthostonyx bird. It was a prehistoric seabird that lived approximately 66 million years ago. This bird was found in the Hornerstown Formation of New Jersey, which is on the border of the Cretaceous-Paleocene boundary.

Paleontologists believe that the Tytthostonyx was closely related to the modern-day pelicans, petrels, and albatrosses. Tytthostonyx is the single species in the Tytthostonygidae family. It was a seabird, so it most likely dined in fish and dove for them in the ocean like its descendants the pelican. This bird is considered to be one of the oldest members of the major seabird group.

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39. Bachman’s Warbler

The Bachman’s warbler is a small migratory bird that scientists believe is extinct. It breeds in the swampy cane and blackberry thickets located in the southeast. During the winter, Bachman’s warbler migrates to warm Cuba.

The estimated last sighting of the Bachman’s warbler was in Louisiana in August 1988. This bird was discovered in 1832 in Charleston, South Carolina. Experts believe that it is distantly related to the golden-winged and blue-winged warblers. Bachman’s warblers breed mostly in the Gulf Coast states along the Mississippi River as well as the southern Atlantic coastal plain. This bird fed on mostly spiders, caterpillars, and other types of arthropods.

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40. Imperial Woodpecker

The imperial woodpecker is a member of the Picidae woodpecker family. It is considered a tropical species. This bird is critically endangered and is most likely extinct.

If there is a chance that this bird is not extinct, it would be the largest species of woodpecker. It measures between 22 and 24 inches long. Compared to other woodpeckers, the imperial woodpecker has a faster wing flap rate as well as slower climbing strides. They are all black except for a red crest on the top of their heads. Some people refer to this bird as the Mexican ivory-billed woodpecker. They were mostly inhabitants of Mexico.

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