Presenter:
Date:
Start Time:
Location:
Admission:
(* Date and Program Change: This Discovery Evening was originally scheduled for March 2, but will now take place on March 9th.)
September 2014 marked the 100th anniversary of the extinction of the Passenger Pigeon (ectopistes migratorius). In the mid-1800's, the species was considered the commonest bird in North America, with population estimates as high as five billion: flocks are famously described as darkening the sky and breeding colonies numbered in the tens of millions. Yet within 50 years, they had disappeared from the wild. Although Manitoba did not host massive breeding colonies, the scanty historical accounts include mention of massive flocks.. How common was it here? Where did it breed? When did it disappear? What physical evidence of the species is there for the province? What role did Manitobans play in its disappearance? Join Dr Randy Mooi on a sleuthing expedition as he tracks down the history of the Passenger Pigeon in Manitoba.