The Carolina Parakeet
Carolina parakeets formerly ranged over much of the eastern United States, and were common as far west as Nebraska, and as far north as Wisconsin. As the landscape was transformed for agriculture, the birds were attracted to the new food sources. In response, farmers shot them in great numbers. As a communal species, when one bird died, the flock flew to its side, thus ensuring the demise of many more. Populations were further diminished by feather hunters, trappers who sold them as pets, and competition from European honeybees for roosting sites.
No one knows precisely where the last Carolina parakeets died in the wild. Most likely, they died unobserved somewhere in the forests of central Florida.
The last two captive Carolina parakeets lived together for thirty-two years in the Cincinnati Zoo. Lady Jane died in 1917 and Incas soon after, on February 21, 1918.
