Did you know that America was once the home of a kind of parrot known as the Carolina parakeet? These colorful birds were common across much of the eastern and central United States as late as the early 1800s. Unlike most parrots throughout the world, the Carolina parakeet could thrive in non-tropical areas, and may have lived as far north as Canada!
The Carolina parakeet was mostly green. It had a yellow head and red face. It weighed about four ounces, or, about a quarter of a pound. These birds lived in forests and swamps and fed on seeds and fruit. Carolina parakeets were thought to benefit farmers because they ate an agricultural pest known as the cocklebur. For this reason, Carolina parakeets were also thought to be toxic to cats. These birds nested in tree cavities and often congregated in noisy flocks of hundreds of birds. They made easy targets for hunters, who killed them by the dozens.
Hunting and habitat loss played a critical role in the rapid decline of parakeet populations in the mid and late 1800s. Other factors such as disease probably played a large role as well, though scientists still aren't sure how or why the population collapsed so rapidly. By the early 1900s, Carolina parakeets were well on their way to extinction. The last bird, named Incas, died in the Cincinnati Zoo in 1918. Coincidentally, it died in the same cage as Martha, the last passenger pigeon, who died four years earlier.
1. How was the Carolina Parakeet different from other parrots?
2. What probably happened on American farms as populations of Carolina parakeets continued to decline?
3. Which is NOT true about Carolina parakeets?
4. Why did populations of Carolina parakeets decline so rapidly?
5. What do passenger pigeons and Carolina parakeets have in common?
6. Which of the following is an example of irony?
7. Which of the following is true?