- Hardcover: 176 pages
- Publisher: Princeton University Press; illustrated edition edition (5 Nov 2004)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0691117950
- ISBN-13: 978-0691117959
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 16 x 2 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 2,650,245 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Review
This is a wonderful compendium, caveated and collated with care. Snyder deserves great credit for a fascinating effort that comes as close as it is possible to get to the resurrection of what must have been a wonderful bird. -- Adrian Barnett California Wild Noel Snyder has now given us a well-researched epithet for North America's once and only endemic parrot. -- Stanley A. Temple Natural Areas Journal
Product Description
This book provides the first comprehensive account of the biology of one of North America's most enigmatic and colorful wildlife species, the Carolina Parakeet. The only parrot endemic to the United States, this species once ranged in large, noisy flocks from Florida to New York, and as far west as Colorado. But although it was still widespread and common during the time of John James Audubon (whose illustration of the species is perhaps his finest work), the parakeet was gone completely by the mid-twentieth century. Through analyses of historical accounts and presentation of considerable new information gleaned from interviewing senior citizens with firsthand knowledge of the species, Noel Snyder develops an intriguing portrait of the parakeet that challenges long-held assumptions. Although it has long been believed that the Carolina Parakeet was exterminated largely by shooting, Snyder argues that exotic diseases may have figured more heavily in its final disappearance. He also presents evidence that the parakeet lasted far longer into the twentieth century than generally believed, and that it may have been toxic and distasteful to predators by virtue of its frequent consumption of the cocklebur - a plant highly poisonous to many other vertebrates. Snyder proposes avenues of research that could help resolve some of the enduring mysteries about this fascinating bird, and he discusses the significance of its extinction for wildlife conservation in general.
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First Sentence
The Carolina Parakeet was a modest-sized bird, slightly more than a foot long, with a wingspan about 2 inches shy of 2 feet. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
The Carolina Parakeet was a modest-sized bird, slightly more than a foot long, with a wingspan about 2 inches shy of 2 feet. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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3 reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Best historical review
24 Mar 2007
Format:Hardcover
Snyder does a superb job of presenting the historical status of a species now extinct. He located much reference literature never before discussed or published. In the case of this species, now certainly extinct, Snyder portrays how the arrogance of certain men may have eliminated any chance of saving the species. Great library reference for any avian biologist.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
An interesting read
3 Jan 2009
Format:Hardcover
It has been two years or so since I read the book so my mindset is not fresh. However, I found this book to be interesting and well worth reading if you have an interest in Carolina Parakeet. Snyder presents details about the bird's Florida range and postulates that the species may have been present into the 1930's. I found the information fascinating and worth considering.
11 of 28 people found the following review helpful
Uninspired writing
15 Mar 2005
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book was a disappointment. I'm very interested in the topic but much of the book reads like a scientific paper. There is a lot of good, interesting information but, unless you're particularly interested in Carolina parakeets, as I am, suffering through the writing is probably not worth it.
The crux of the book is his postulation that the parakeets diet of cockleburs made them toxic to most predators thus their bright feathers, gregariousness and ability to "sleep" at night. These abilities were no match against humans who killed them with ease. One shot took out droves and then the survivors would gather around the fallen, making shooting the rest even easier.
Because cockleburs grow around human dwellings the parakeet was drawn to areas where they came in contact with livestock and other sources of exotic diseases, conceivably nail in the coffin for the parakeet.
The crux of the book is his postulation that the parakeets diet of cockleburs made them toxic to most predators thus their bright feathers, gregariousness and ability to "sleep" at night. These abilities were no match against humans who killed them with ease. One shot took out droves and then the survivors would gather around the fallen, making shooting the rest even easier.
Because cockleburs grow around human dwellings the parakeet was drawn to areas where they came in contact with livestock and other sources of exotic diseases, conceivably nail in the coffin for the parakeet.
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