Carolina Parakeet (Conuropsis carolinensis)  

The Carolina parakeet was one of only two species of parrots native to North America. (The other, the thick-billed parrot, is endangered and only found in one mountain range in Mexico.) These colorful birds could be found throughout the southeastern U.S. Along with the passenger pigeon, the Carolina parakeet depended on the deciduous forests that once covered the areas east of the Mississippi.

Carolina parakeets were driven to extinction due to a number of factors. Like many endangered and extinct birds, loss of habitat contributed to their decline. With fewer places to nest and forage as the large forests that they needed were cut down, the flocks of parakeets turned to raiding farmers’ crops for food. The birds were hunted as farm pests and were easy to shoot because if one member of the flock were shot, the others would continue to circle the field and stay with the injured bird. The colorful birds were also shot for their feathers, which were used to decorate ladies’ hats, and the young birds were frequently taken as pets.

Carolina parakeets declined sharply until they all but disappearing around 1900. Although shooting the birds had slowed down, the population never recovered and the few remaining flocks of parakeets may have finally died out due to disease. The last captive Carolina parakeet, named Incas, died in 1918 at the Cincinnati Zoo — only 4 years after Martha, the last passenger pigeon, also died there.