Facts about Carolina Parakeet
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Ornithologists believe habitat loss from deforestation reduced Carolina Parakeet range from the Atlantic coast to the Mississippi River valley by the early 1900s.
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Zygodactyl feet with two toes pointing forward and two backward allowed Carolina Parakeets to grip branches and extract seeds with remarkable dexterity.
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In 1832, John James Audubon documented Carolina Parakeets nesting in hollow trees throughout the Mississippi River valley, providing detailed observations of their breeding behavior.
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Social bonds within Carolina Parakeet flocks were so strong that captured individuals refused to eat and died quickly in captivity, making them nearly impossible to keep alive in zoos.
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The Carolina Parakeet's diet consisted primarily of seeds from cockleburs, thistle, and pine cones, supplemented with berries and unripe fruit during seasonal availability.
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Approximately 12 inches long with a wingspan reaching 21 inches, the Carolina Parakeet was smaller than most modern macaw species native to Central and South America.
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Fossil evidence indicates Carolina Parakeets had lived in North America for at least 2 million years before their extinction in 1939 when the last captive individual died in the Cincinnati Zoo.
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Nineteenth-century Carolina Parakeet populations declined rapidly due to agricultural expansion and persecution by farmers who viewed them as crop pests destroying fruit and grain harvests.
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Flocks of Carolina Parakeets sometimes numbered in the thousands during migration across the southeastern United States during the 1800s.
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Bright green plumage with yellow and red head markings made the Carolina Parakeet easily identifiable among North America's avian species.
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By 1918, the last wild Carolina Parakeet was shot in Kentucky, marking the extinction of North America's only native parrot species.