The Carolina Parrot is an extinct animal of the parrot family (Psittacidae) that lived in North America. Belongs to the monotypic genus Conuropsis. The species was destroyed as a result of hunting and economic activity of man. The last individuals died in the zoo about 100 years ago. The scientific name for this bird is Conuropsis carolinensis.
The Caroline parrot was the only member of the Psittacidae family on the North American continent and, moreover, was endemic.
Biological characteristics of poultry
Conuropsis carolinensis was the northernmost species of the parrot family. Unlike its tropical relatives, this bird easily tolerated winter cold.
Scientific information on the biology of Caroline parrots is extremely scarce. Descriptions are based on records from the time when this species still existed in nature. According to these data, Caroline parrots were unusually beautiful birds with a long life expectancy (up to 35 years). They preferred to live in coastal thickets of sycamore and cypress trees. The diet included seed thistle boxes, fruits, and later the grains of some agricultural plants grown on North American plantations.
There is very little data on the reproduction of these birds. It is known that they nested in the spring. Females laid two to five eggs and hatched them for 23 days. Nothing is known about the biology of mating due to the lack of relevant studies.
The only detailed information about Caroline parrots concerns morphological features, namely: body size, plumage, wingspan, etc. In zoological museums there are designed stuffed animals. The collections also have 720 skins and 16 full skeletons.
Appearance and photo of a Caroline parrot
Among the parrots, the Carolins are far from small. The body size of an adult male reached 32 centimeters, and with a tail - 45. This bird was significantly larger than a budgerigar.
The weight of Conuropsis carolinensis ranged from 100 to 140 grams, and the wingspan exceeded 50 centimeters. Females were slightly smaller than males.
The main plumage of parrots had a bright grassy green color. Before and sides of the head were red-orange, and the throat and crown were yellow. In the wings, sections of different colors alternated (dark green, olive and black). The feathers of the feathers were purple-black in the inner region. The tail of the Carolina parrot is dark green, with a gray-yellow bottom and a blackish border. The beak had a whitish pink color.
Carolina parrots did not have a pronounced sexual dimorphism. The main difference was the brightness of the color (the plumage of the females was paler). The difference in size was not decisive in the visual determination of sex.
Habitat
The habitat of this bird was the area located between Dakota and Florida. The distribution of the animal reached 42 degrees north latitude. The birds tolerated the harsh winter conditions periodically occurring in these areas, which are unacceptable to many inhabitants of the tropics.
Carolina parrots have been reported in South Dakota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, and West Virginia. The westernmost point of detection of these birds is eastern Colorado.
As a habitat, Caroline parrots preferred forest biotopes near ponds where birds periodically flew to drink. These birds built their nests in the hollows of trees. After the continent was developed by Europeans, parrots began to populate agricultural land.
Extinction story
The era of extermination of Caroline parrots began with the development of the colonization of North America by Europeans. Bird hunting had two main reasons:
- aesthetic - feathers of parrots served as a popular decoration for women's hats;
- economic - farmers assumed that these birds could cause serious damage to the crop.
The number of species was affected not only by shooting, but also by the destruction of natural habitats. The forest area was shrinking, being replaced by agricultural plantations.
According to officially confirmed data, the last representatives of the species died in the Cincinnati Zoo. They were male and female with the names of Lady Jane and Incas. The first individual died in the summer of 1917, and the second a few months later, in the winter. Thus, 1918 became the official date of the extinction of the species.
The reliability of the information that the last wild representatives were seen in Florida in 1926 is not confirmed, as are the rumors about the meeting of these parrots in nature until 1938.
