passenger pigeon

American  

noun

1. an extinct pigeon, Ectopistes migratorius, once found in great numbers in North America, noted for its sustained migratory flights.

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passenger pigeon British  

noun

1. a gregarious North American pigeon, Ectopistes migratorius: became extinct at the beginning of the 20th century

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Etymology

Origin of passenger pigeon

An Americanism dating back to 1795–1805

Example Sentences

Along with the passenger pigeon we exterminated the great auk, the Carolina parakeet, the Labrador duck and the ivory-billed woodpecker.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 23, 2026

In the 1800s, the sky would routinely grow dark when large numbers of the now-extinct passenger pigeon passed through this popular roosting area in northwestern, Pennsylvania.

From National Geographic • Nov. 20, 2023

Long before the publication of "The Last Unicorn," the world had already mourned countless species, from the Stellar's sea cow to the fabled passenger pigeon.

From Salon • Nov. 29, 2022

But the protection was too late for the passenger pigeon, which went extinct in 1914.

From National Geographic Kids • Dec. 21, 2020

“What happened was that the impact of European contact altered the ecological dynamics in such a way that the passenger pigeon took off.”

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann