passenger pigeon

Definition

A bird of the extinct species †Ectopistes migratorius, formerly endemic to North America.

Example Sentences

• "Martha was a remnant of a species that had once dominated North America; it is estimated that there were as many as four billion – yes, billion – passenger pigeons when the Europeans arrived."
• "Revive & Restore, a branch of the Long Now Foundation, is currently attempting to de-extinct the passenger pigeon in a project called The Great Comeback."