Carolina parakeet
| Carolina Parakeet | ||||||||||||||
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| Conuropsis carolinensis |
The Carolina parakeet (Conuropsis carolinensis) was the only parrot species native to the eastern United States, found from the Ohio Valley to the Gulf of Mexico. It lived in old forests along rivers.
The Carolina parakeet died out because of a number of different threats. To make space for more agricultural land, large areas of forest were cut down, taking away their living space. The colorful feathers (green body, yellow head, and red around the bill) were desirable as decorations in ladies' hats, and the birds were kept as pets. Finally, they were killed in large numbers because they were considered a pest by farmers
The last wild specimen was killed in Florida in 1913, and the last captive bird died at the Cincinnati Zoo in 1918.
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