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| Software: Poser5 with Painter8 post |
| Model Credits: Carolina Parakeet from "Threatened, Endangered & Extinct" Songbird ReMix (DAZ) |
| Comments: The
Carolina Parakeet once had a range from Eastern Nebraska and Southeastern
Wisconsin all the way to the East Coast, from New York to Florida. They
nested in riparian and deciduous forests and cypress swamps. It is
believes they nested in tree cavities made by woodpeckers and up to 50
nests would be in a single tree. The parakeets loved fruit, nuts and
grain. Before widespread agriculture took hold in the area, it lived on
seeds from grasses and trees. As the areas became developed the parakeet
developed tastes for apples, oranges, grapes, dogwood flowers and
mulberries. Unfortunately for the bird, most of these tasty treats were
found in farms and gardens. Being a member of the parrot family, this
parakeet was highly gregarious and traveled commonly in flocks of 30
individuals. Farmers and gardeners began to shoot the parakeets as crops
pests. Hunters began to shoot them for "sport" and their feathers.
Parakeets being very social birds, would flock around shot and injured
members to help them, making them easy targets and adding to the carnage.
By 1900, the Carolina Parakeet was extinct in the wild. A breeding program at the Cincinnati Zoo, kept the parakeet from complete extinction until 1914 when the last individual died. |