It was not possible to reestablish the species with a few captive birds. The small captive flocks weakened and died. The last known individual of the passenger pigeon species was "Martha" (named after ...

The passenger pigeon was once the most numerous bird in the world. In the mid-1800s, billions of these birds were flying over the forests of eastern North America. Yet in just half a century, they’d ...

On September 1, 1914, Martha, the passenger pigeon, was found dead on the floor ... weighed 300 pounds and sent to the Smithsonian’s Museum of Natural History, where it has stayed ever since.