page_title: List of the Cenozoic life of North Carolina
section_title: E
hierarchical_section_title: List of the Cenozoic life of North Carolina / E
caption_attribution_description: Ectopistes migratorius (Linnaeus, 1766) - passenger pigeon (extinct) (mount, public display, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, Ilinois, USA). The story of the passenger pigeon is famous as an example of the idiotic destructive power of modern man ("Homo stupidus") &amp; human overpopulation. The passenger pigeon, Ectopistes migratorius, was at one time the # 1 most abundant bird in North America, and likely the # 1 most abundant bird on Earth. The species became extinct about 100 years ago. The last known individual was a captive bird held at the Cincinnati Zoo. It died at 1 PM on 1 September 1914. It is the only species whose extinction timing is very well known. Ectopistes migratorius occupied the central &amp; eastern portions of temperate North America. It was driven to extinction by professional hunters (the birds were destined for food markets - American Indians also killed these birds as a source of food) and clear-cutting of forests. Passenger pigeon flocks were famously huge - they darkened skies and took hours to fly by. Their droppings fell like snow. Individual flocks were estimated to have contained more than three billion birds. Flock density was so high that when two flocks flying in opposite directions collided, numerous stunned birds fell to the ground. Passenger pigeons nested in huge colonies, occupying hundreds of square miles of forests. Single trees could have hundreds of nests. Tree branches were seen to break from the weight of all the perching birds. Late 1800s hunters targeted the nesting colony areas. Oddly, passenger pigeons couldn’t nest alone or in small colonies. With the destruction of the nesting colonies, the species couldn’t make a comeback. The passenger pigeon is the only species in the pigeon/dove family driven to extinction by gun nerds. However, several other birds in this family, usually island species, have gone also extinct due to other human factors. The Lesson? Natural resources can run out. (think oil as well) Classification: Animalia, Chordata, Vertebrata, Aves, Columbiformes, Columbidae Birds are small to large, warm-blooded, egg-laying, feathered, bipedal vertebrates capable of powered flight (although some are secondarily flightless). Many scientists characterize birds as dinosaurs, but this is consequence of the physical structure of evolutionary diagrams. Birds aren’t dinosaurs. They’re birds. The logic &amp; rationale that some use to justify statements such as “birds are dinosaurs” is the same logic &amp; rationale that results in saying “vertebrates are echinoderms”. Well, no one says the latter. No one should say the former, either. However, birds are evolutionarily derived from theropod dinosaurs. Birds first appeared in the Triassic or Jurassic, depending on which avian paleontologist you ask. They inhabit a wide variety of terrestrial and surface marine environments, and exhibit considerable variation in behaviors and diets.
context_page_description: This list of the Cenozoic life of North Carolina contains the various prehistoric life-forms whose fossilized remains have been reported from within the US state of North Carolina and are between 66 million and 10,000 years of age.
context_section_description: †Eburneopecten
  †Eburneopecten scintillatus
   Echinocardium
  †Echinocardium kelloggi
  Echinocyamus
  †Echinocyamus bisexus
  †Echinocyamus parvus
  Echinocythereis
  †Echinocythereis leecreekensis
  †Echinocythereis planibasalis
  †Echinocytheris
  Echinolampas
  †Echinolampas appendiculata
  †Echinolampas appendiculatus
   Echinorhinus
  †Echinorhinus blakei – or unidentified comparable form
  †Ecphora
  †Ecphora aurora
  †Ecphora pamlico
  †Ecphora tampaensis
  †Ecphora tricostata
  †Ecphora wheeleri – type locality for species
  †Ectopistes
   †Ectopistes migratorius – or unidentified related form
  Electra
  Elphidium
  †Elphidium clavatum
  †Elphidium gunteri
  †Elphidium limatulum
  †Elphidium neocrespinae
  Emarginula
  Encope
  †Encope macrophora
  †Endictya
  †Endictya robusta
  Endopachys
   Ensis
  †Ensis directus
  †Ensis veritis
  Ensitellops
  †Ensitellops elongata
  †Ensitellops protexta
  †Eocarpilius
  †Eocarpilius blowi – type locality for species
  †Eoepondilla
  †Eoepondilla hemisphaericus – or unidentified comparable form
  Eontia
  †Eontia ponderosa
  Epinephelus
  Epistominella
  †Epistominella danvillensis
   Epitonium
  †Epitonium aequabile – type locality for species
  †Epitonium apiculatum
  †Epitonium carolinae
  †Epitonium dignitate
  †Epitonium dignitatis – type locality for species
  †Epitonium fasciatum
  †Epitonium fractum
  †Epitonium humphreysii
  †Epitonium junceum
  †Epitonium leai
  †Epitonium pratti
  †Epitonium robesonense
  †Epitonium rupicola
  †Epitonium sohli
   Equetus
  †Equetus umbrosus – or unidentified comparable form
  Ervilia
  †Ervilia lata
  Erycina
  †Erycina carolinensis
  †Erycinella
  †Erycinella ovalis
  Eucalathis
  Eucrassatella – tentative report
  †Eucymba
  Eucythere
  †Eucythere declivus
  †Eucythere f informal
  †Eucythere gibba
  †Eucythere triangulata
   Eudocimus
  Eulima
  †Eulima juncea
  †Eupatagas
  †Eupatagas carolinensis
  Eupatagus
  †Eupatagus carolinensis
  †Eupatagus lawsonae
  †Eupatagus wilsoni
  Eupleura
  †Eupleura caudata
  †Eurhodia
  †Eurhodia baumi
  †Eurhodia depressa
  †Eurhodia holmesi
  †Eurhodia ideali
  †Eurhodia rugosa
  Eurytellina
  †Eurytellina alternata
  †Euscalpellum
  †Euscalpellum carolinensis
   Euspira
  †Euspira heros
  †Euspira vicksburgensis
  †Eutrephoceras
  †Eutrephoceras berryi
  †Eutrephoceras carolinense
  †Eutrephoceras carolinensis
  Euvola
  †Euvola raveneli
  †Evilia
  †Evilia lata
  †Exanthesis
  †Exanthesis ovatus – type locality for species
caption: Taxidermied male Ectopistes migratorius, or passenger pigeon
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "", "Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon PowerShot D10", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "180", "Image YResolution": "180", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop CS2 Macintosh", "Image DateTime": "2014:10:18 01:36:05", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "272", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "1194", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "4959", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/60", "EXIF FNumber": "14/5", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "160", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2011:12:18 15:02:20", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2011:12:18 15:02:20", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "3", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "189/32", "EXIF ApertureValue": "95/32", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "95/32", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash fired, auto mode, red-eye reduction mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "31/5", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "2784", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2640", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "Interoperability RelatedImageWidth": "4000", "Interoperability RelatedImageLength": "3000", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "1044", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "4000000/243", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "1500000/91", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "1", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard"}