Martha (passenger pigeon)

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Martha
Cincinnati Zoo
Resting placeNational Museum of Natural History
Known forLast known living passenger pigeon

Martha (c. 1885 – September 1, 1914) was a

first lady of the United States
from 1789 to 1797.

Early life

The stuffed skin of Martha in 1921

The history of the

Eurasian collared-doves.[6] Whitman and the Cincinnati Zoo, recognizing the decline of the wild populations, attempted to consistently breed the surviving birds, including attempts at making a rock dove foster passenger pigeon eggs.[7] These attempts were unsuccessful, and Whitman sent Martha to the Cincinnati Zoo in 1902.[8][9]

However, other sources argue that Martha was instead the descendant of three pairs of passenger pigeons purchased by the Cincinnati Zoo in 1877.[1] Another source claimed that when the Cincinnati Zoo opened in 1875, it already had 22 birds in its collection.[10] These sources claim that Martha was hatched at the Cincinnati Zoo in 1885, and that the passenger pigeons were originally kept not because of the rarity of the species, but to enable guests to have a closer look at a native species.[11]

Cincinnati Zoo

By November 1907, Martha and her two male companions at the Cincinnati Zoo were the only known surviving passenger pigeons after four captive males in Milwaukee died during the winter.[10] One of the Cincinnati males died in April 1909, followed by the remaining male on July 10, 1910.[10][11] Martha soon became a celebrity due to her status as an endling, and offers of a $1,000 reward for finding a mate for Martha brought even more visitors to see her.[11][12] Several years before her death Martha suffered an apoplectic stroke, leaving her weakened; the zoo built a lower roost for her as she could no longer reach her old one.[13] Martha died at 1 p.m. on September 1, 1914 of old age.[14] Her body was found lifeless on her cage's floor.[2] Depending on the source, Martha was between 17–29 years old at the time of her death, although 29 is the generally accepted figure.[9]

After death

Martha after being skinned

After her death, Martha was quickly brought to the Cincinnati Ice Company, where she was held by her feet and frozen into a 300-pound (140 kg) block of ice.[12] She was then sent by express train to the Smithsonian, where she arrived on September 4, 1914 and was photographed.[12][14] She had been molting when she died, and as such she was missing several feathers, including some of her longer tail feathers.[14] William Palmer[15] skinned Martha while Nelson R. Wood mounted her skin.[14] Her internal parts were dissected by Robert Wilson Shufeldt and are also preserved and kept by the National Museum of Natural History.[14][16]

Martha in 2015
Martha's 1956 display at the Smithsonian Institution

From the 1920s through the early 1950s, she was displayed in the

Zoological Society of San Diego's Golden Jubilee Conservation Conference and in June 1974 to the Cincinnati Zoo for the dedication of the Passenger Pigeon Memorial.[16] When the Smithsonian shut down its Birds of the World exhibit, Martha was removed from display and kept in a special exhibit at the Cincinnati Zoo.[5][17] Martha was back on display in the Smithsonian from June 2014 to September 2015 for the exhibit Once There Were Billions.[18] Martha has been on public display in the Smithsonian's "Objects of Wonder" exhibit alongside a mountain gorilla skull since March 10, 2017. She will remain on display there until the exhibit's scheduled closure in 2025.[19]

Cultural significance

Martha has become a symbol of the threat of

Zoological Society of San Diego's 1966 Golden Jubilee Conservation Conference as a mascot to emphasize the need for conservation.[12] A Harvard historian has described Martha's remains as "an organic monument, biologically continuous with the living bird she commemorates, the embodiment of extinction itself."[12] Many authors writing about extinction have made what one described as a "strange pilgrimage" to see her remains.[17]

John Herald, a bluegrass singer, wrote a song dedicated to Martha and the extinction of the passenger pigeon that he titled "Martha (Last of the Passenger Pigeons)".[20] Hugh Prestwood wrote a song called "Martha" which details her trying to find a mate.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Schorger 1955, p. 27
  2. ^ a b Schorger 1955, p. 29
  3. ^ Rothschild 1907, p. 170
  4. ISSN 0016-741X
    .
  5. ^ a b Department of Vertebrate Zoology, National Museum of Natural History (March 2001). "The Passenger Pigeon". Encyclopedia Smithsonian. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
  6. ^ Burkhardt 2005, p. 26
  7. doi:10.3996/062010-JFWM-017
    .
  8. ^ Burkhardt 2005, p. 44
  9. ^ a b Schorger 1955, p. 30
  10. ^ a b c Schorger 1955, p. 28
  11. ^ a b c "In 50 Years Passenger Pigeons Went From Billions To A Lone Bird, Martha". sportsillustrated.cnn.com. Sports Illustrated. Retrieved October 28, 2011.
  12. ^
    ISSN 0028-0712
    .
  13. ^ "Last Passenger Pigeon Dies". El Paso Morning Times. El Paso, Texas. September 14, 1914. p. 5.
  14. ^
    JSTOR 4071611. Archived from the original
    (PDF) on 2014-05-20.
  15. doi:10.5479/si.00963801.27-1359.337
    .
  16. ^ a b c d "'Martha,' The Last Passenger Pigeon". Celebrating 100 Years at the National Museum of Natural History. Smithsonian Institution. Archived from the original on 21 January 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
  17. ^
    ISSN 1041-0406
    .
  18. ^ "360 Degree View of Martha, the Last Passenger Pigeon". Retrieved 2 September 2014.
  19. ^ "Objects of Wonder". Retrieved 31 July 2022.
  20. ^ Herald, John. "Lyrics to 'Martha (Last of the Passenger Pigeons)'". Johnherald.com. Retrieved 28 April 2013.

Bibliography

External links
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