Carolina Parakeet (extinct 1918)

“Incas”, the last Carolina Parakeet, died in the same cage as “Martha”, four years after her death in 1914. While it was once believed that the only native parrot to the eastern U.S. died out because of harmful disease as well as the introduction of honeybees competing for their nesting cavities, human interference is the main reason for their extinction. They were shot, eaten as food, stuffed as prizes, used for decoration in women’s hats, and domesticated as pets. Like the passenger pigeon, carolina parakeets were very social birds, which flocked together, even where one was bird had just been killed, making them a huge target. With most farmers considering them as pests, they were hunted, unmercifully. Finally, deforestation and probably poultry disease drove them to extinction.