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These Birds Will Not be Returning to Our Area
Written By: William McReynolds | Issue: June 2023
The Carolina Parakeet is long gone from our forests and meadows. Other winged neighbors could be joining them.
Carolina Parakeets by
John James Audubon
This native Carolinian, a subtropical green parrot, was once so numerous that their flocks ranged from New York and Wisconsin south to Kentucky and Tennessee and west from the Atlantic to Colorado. In its time, it was the northernmost parrot in the Western Hemisphere.
Its sudden decline began in the 1800s, and the Carolina Parakeet was rarely seen outside of Florida, its last refuge, after 1860. John James Audubon wrote in 1831 that “In some districts, where twenty-five years ago they were plentiful, scarcely any are now to be seen.”
This extinction was caused in part by the loss of habitat and the harvesting of these colorful birds for their ornamental feathers. Farmers shot them in great numbers because they menaced crops like apples. Carolina Parakeets cooperated in this massive kill with their habit of congregating above a fallen member of their flock, being easy prey for farmers seeking to eliminate entire populations.
The last known wild Carolina Parakeet was killed in 1904. The last captive Carolina Parakeet died in the Cincinnati Zoo in 1918 in the same cage in which the last Passenger Pigeon died.
Other species of native birds are now in steep decline and threatened with extinction. The extensive Audubon Birds and Climate Report summarizes the impact of climate change on 588 North American birds. Of the species studied, 314 were found to be currently “at risk” from global warming. Of these, 126 are considered “endangered” with 188 “threatened” with the loss of more than 50% of their current range by the year 2080.
Nine State Birds could disappear from their states including the Common Loon of Minnesota, Baltimore Oriole of Maryland, Hermit Thrush of Vermont, and Purple Finch of New Hampshire. Threatened North Carolina birds include Golden-winged, Cerulean, and Black-throated Blue Warblers; Wood Thrush; Brown-headed Nuthatch; Barn Owls and Ovenbirds. Never have conservation efforts been more vital to the preservation of our national wildlife heritage.
The mission of the Highlands Plateau Audubon Society is to provide opportunities to enjoy and learn about birds and other wildlife and to promote conservation and restoration of the habitats that support them. HPAS is a 501(c)(3) organization, a Chapter of the National Audubon Society.
Visit highlandsaudubonsociety.org for information on membership and all activities.
