Passenger pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius)

With an estimated 3 – 5 billion of their kind, passenger pigeons were once the most common species of bird in the world. During the 19th century millions of passenger pigeons were shot because they were considered crop pests and sold as cheap food, but also for the pure love of killing. Martha, the last of her kind, died on September 1, 1914, in the Cincinnati Zoo.