[nysbirds-l] In memorium: The Carolina Parakeet
This email is in memorial to the Carolina Parakeet (Conuropsis carolinensis) on the 100th anniversary, today 2/21/18, of its official extinction. Since it doesn't get the acknowledgement it deserves as did the Passenger Pigeon on its anniversary, I wanted to at least say something in memorium. Not only is it my favorite bird, but it was an extraordinary species that was our only resident Psittacine and a unique and gorgeous animal. What a wonder it must have been to have seen the huge flocks of thousands zipping through the trees of the great southern swamps back in the day. Or to have them roosting under the eaves of your home, building, or shed for the evening. I can only imagine how cool it was to see them at dusk flying to their roosts by the dozens into large cavities of sycamores, bald cypresses, and other giants of the time. Every time I see a remnant monstrous tree in the south I imagine how many parakeets might have been feeding on its fruits or roosting in one of its gnarled cavities. When I see flocks of introduced Monk Parakeets in the northeast I pretend they are a flock of Carolina Parakeets, being around the same size and mostly the same color. They occasionally appeared this far north as vagrants to the few who actually appreciated them for the wonderful birds they were. When I go to a museum or see an article, photo, or book (the few that are out there), I snap it up to add to my collection of memorabilia of this parakeet. If only zoos back in the 19th century had tried to save them by breeding them in captivity, since they bred readily, we could most likely have had them coursing through our forests today. May they rest in piece and nobody forget them, Andrew Andrew v. F. Block Consulting Naturalist 20 Hancock Avenue, Apt. 3 Yonkers, Westchester Co., New York 10705-4629 www.flickr.com/photos/conuropsis/albums -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01 Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[nysbirds-l] In memorium: The Carolina Parakeet
This email is in memorial to the Carolina Parakeet (Conuropsis carolinensis) on the 100th anniversary, today 2/21/18, of its official extinction. Since it doesn't get the acknowledgement it deserves as did the Passenger Pigeon on its anniversary, I wanted to at least say something in memorium. Not only is it my favorite bird, but it was an extraordinary species that was our only resident Psittacine and a unique and gorgeous animal. What a wonder it must have been to have seen the huge flocks of thousands zipping through the trees of the great southern swamps back in the day. Or to have them roosting under the eaves of your home, building, or shed for the evening. I can only imagine how cool it was to see them at dusk flying to their roosts by the dozens into large cavities of sycamores, bald cypresses, and other giants of the time. Every time I see a remnant monstrous tree in the south I imagine how many parakeets might have been feeding on its fruits or roosting in one of its gnarled cavities. When I see flocks of introduced Monk Parakeets in the northeast I pretend they are a flock of Carolina Parakeets, being around the same size and mostly the same color. They occasionally appeared this far north as vagrants to the few who actually appreciated them for the wonderful birds they were. When I go to a museum or see an article, photo, or book (the few that are out there), I snap it up to add to my collection of memorabilia of this parakeet. If only zoos back in the 19th century had tried to save them by breeding them in captivity, since they bred readily, we could most likely have had them coursing through our forests today. May they rest in piece and nobody forget them, Andrew Andrew v. F. Block Consulting Naturalist 20 Hancock Avenue, Apt. 3 Yonkers, Westchester Co., New York 10705-4629 www.flickr.com/photos/conuropsis/albums -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01 Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
