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They were used extensively by Europeans until the development of the telegraph. The ancient Persians were the first to use carrier pigeons, followed by the Greeks and Romans.

Some of these pigeons have been used to carry messages for centuries. However, there are pigeons called “carrier pigeons” ( Columba livia domestica) that have aided humans in delivering messages. No, the North American passenger (carrier) pigeon didn’t carry anything.

This shows that it wasn’t a lack of food that drove the passenger pigeon to extinction. Farmers saw carrier pigeons as a pest and treated them as such.Īs forests disappeared, carrier pigeons showed the ability to adapt to less desirable food sources like farmed corn. This triggered a sizeable portion of the hunting that took place across the nation. They decimated a variety of crops like buckwheat and corn when their swarms flew in. They mixed invertebrates like caterpillars and worms into their diet as well, particularly during the breeding season. They also took advantage of seasonal berries like grapes, pokeberries, and blueberries. What Did the Passenger Pigeon (Carrier Pigeon) Eat? Acorns were among the passenger pigeon’s favorite foods.Ĭarrier pigeons loved to eat tree nuts like beechnuts and acorns. Genetic evidence points to a thriving population, however. Some scientists have tried to prove that the passenger pigeon was already in decline before hunting took place. It was hunting and deforestation combined that are to blame for the disappearance of the passenger pigeon. As deforestation progressed, it was the last blow needed to drive the passenger pigeon to extinction. They nested and roosted in huge groups in forests. The way they conducted themselves as a population made their extinction easier. Carrier pigeons were also highly social and nested together, making them easy targets. Their survival adaptation was to outnumber predators and overwhelm them, but this only furthered their accessibility to humans. Passenger pigeons weren’t able to adapt fast enough to a mass murder event. Instead, hunters kept at it until they were completely gone. Their nests were also destroyed, but they never became functionally extinct. They were also hunted mercilessly by farmers trying to protect their crops from complete devastation.Įven when passenger pigeons became harder to find, they were still hunted relentlessly. The opening of transcontinental railroads allowed for the quick transport of hunters and their products. This commercialization happened in response to the convenience of the railroad. While subsistence hunting of passenger pigeons had been occurring for thousands of years, it was the commercialization of pigeon meat that led to their demise. The number of birds made it seem like passenger pigeons were an endless meat source, but this proved to be untrue. The carrier pigeon (passenger pigeon) went extinct due to overhunting. How Did the Carrier Pigeon (Passenger Pigeon) Go Extinct? The pigeon was mounted, and the boy responsible didn’t know what species it was when he shot it. The last known shooting death of a carrier pigeon was in 1900. The Best Nest Boxes Birds Will Actually Use for 2022