242 On the trail of vanishing birds 



mens in existence in the museums and scientific collections of 

 the world. 



Another report states that a specimen, since lost, was taken 

 at Elmira, New York, in 1878. Apparently this remains uncon- 

 firmed. In any case, the Labrador duck is no more. 



We have already mentioned the possibility that the passenger 

 pigeon, the next species to disappear, once numbered in the 

 billions. In his thorough-going study of Ectopistes migratorius, 

 Schorger describes this splendid bird as follows: 



The passenger pigeon, with its small head and neck, long tail, 

 and beautiful plumage, had an air of uncommon elegance. The 

 length of the male was about 16% inches, and color ranged 

 from slaty blue on the head to grayish blue on the back. The 

 throat, foreneck, and breast were vinaceous; a metallic irides- 

 cence of bronze, green, and purple tinged the hindneck." 



They ranged chiefly over the eastern half of the United States, 

 west to Montana and Texas, south to north Florida, as well as in 

 southern Canada from Alberta to Ontario. The principal nesting 

 area was the northeastern United States from Minnesota and 

 Kentucky to New England. 



Schorger reviews in considerable detail the many ways in which 

 these birds were taken for food. After 1852, when rail transporta- 

 tion was available between the Atlantic seaboard and Chicago, 

 the traffic in pigeons increased. In 1855, the game markets of 

 New York City alone disposed of 300,000 pigeons annually. At 

 Petoskey, Michigan, there were 600 professional netters in 1874, 

 employed exclusively in the pigeon trade, and in 1878 it was 

 estimated that at least 2,000 people were connected with the 

 business, either as catchers or pickers. By 1881 the number of 

 professional trappers reached 1,200. Estimates of the numbers 

 of pigeons killed are astonishing. Three Michigan nestings were 

 said to have furnished the market with 1,000 tons of squabs and 

 2,400,000 adult birds. Other nestings, as in Wisconsin, contributed 

 even greater numbers. At its height the trade was "big business." 

 One dealer at the Petoskey nesting was reported to be worth 



