Monday, March 11, 2013

Where are They Now: The Passenger Pigeon

 The Inspiration. In one of the courses I teach, students are required to select a topic from a list that I provide; and then determine what they would like to know about that topic. I assess them on how well they reached their learning goals. This has become a fun course for the students and for me. For the students it is not often that they have the opportunity to design a course around their own learning goals. For me each semester the course changes based on the students interests… and I have the opportunity to learn quite a bit. 

A few semesters ago one of my students’ learning objectives had her looking at 3 extinct species. She studied each species, its habitat, and the reason for its extinction. As she shared what she had learned about these species I was amazed (all over again) at the destructive capacity of europeans. Studies of species extinction is a good tool for learning about both science and racism white supremacy. Let’s look at one example: the passenger pigeon.

The Good Times. The passenger pigeon (ectopistes migratorius) was noted for its large numbers. It was not unusual for a one flock to block the sun for hours as it flew by. Passenger pigeons were so numerous that flocks of the species had to be measured in square miles. The passenger pigeon is native to North America and upon the arrival of europeans it was regarded as one of the most abundant species of bird on the planet. One of its primary contributions to the ecosystem was that it was an efficient fertilizer. Pound for pound it dropped the most pigeon poop around.J Another primary contribution is that along with fertilizer it spread the seeds of vegetation that it ate. This helped to propagate a wide range of plant species. Perhaps a secondary contribution is that it served as wolf chow, hawk chow, weasel chow, and fox chow.

The Horror. The passenger pigeon was destroyed by the european. The first thing this weapon of mass destruction did to the poor passenger pigeon was to destroy its habitat. By clear cutting forests (ostensibly to build more wal-marts and gas stations) the passenger pigeon had fewer safe places to live and nest. The second thing this weapon of mass destruction did was to hunt the passenger pigeon into extinction. Someone had the bright idea of using the bird for slave chow. These brave hunters would soak grain and seeds in alcohol and leave it out for the pigeons to feed. The intoxicated pigeons would then be easier to kill[1]. There are a number of sources documenting the rate at which the passenger pigeon was killed. In one city in Michigan, upwards of 50,000 birds were killed per day over a 5 month period[2]. Blanchan’s book Birds That Hunt and Are Hunted is a very good documentary source. By european records the last passenger pigeon died in 1914.

There are many other extinct species that we could study: the dodo, rocky mountain locusts, blue walleye, the great auk, the Carolina parakeet, the Tasmanian Tiger (thylacine), even the Tasmanian are just a few. As we explore these many different cases, and causes of extinction, we should be vigilant in our search for patterns and recurring themes. What do you think we will find? Until next time…

Abibifahodie!


And remember… Have Fun!


Jomo W. Mutegi, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Science Education at the Indiana University School of Education in Indianapolis. He is also a member of the (ES)2 Research Program, which works to advance STEM curricula that position people of African descent to improve their current social condition. To learn more about the (ES)2 Research Program visit: www.ES2RP.org.






[1] Writing Activity: Write a short essay describing another historical or contemporary instance of europeans using alcohol to kill or otherwise exploit another species.
[2] Math Activity: If 50,000 pigeons were killed each day, how many were killed each hour? Each minute? Each second? Remember that this is the number of birds killed every second, every minute of every day, for 24 hours a day, seven days a week for nearly half a year… in only 1 city. That is a lot of killing!

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