The Tragedy Behind Why The Passenger Pigeon Went Extinct

2025-06-02T16:30:02.000Z Despite their reputation for being dirty and disease-carrying, pigeons are actually quite clean animals that pose little risk of transmitting pathogens to humans. Pigeons aren't stupid, either, despite their nests looking so horrible. And many of the world's 300 pigeon species are absolutely gorgeous to look at. Few, however, rival the beauty of the red-breasted passenger pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius), a bird that once took to the skies of North America in the billions before humans drove...