A Message from Martha

Martha was the last surviving Passenger Pigeon, who died in Cincinnati Zoo on September 1st 1914. This pigeon, and the anniversary of her death, provides the narrative for Mark Avery’s book which highlights the tragedy of extinction and the challenges that many species face as a result of human pressure on the natural world. Following a very short introduction, the book starts with two fascinating chapters which piece together the biology of this species from the available sources. Before reading this, I knew a little about the Passenger Pigeon, but hadn’t appreciated quite how different it was in its ecology to other pigeons, and just how many there may have been. The Passenger Pigeon was exceptional, and these chapters really capture the imagination when describing what has been lost in the demise of this species.

In the next chapters, Mark Avery then considers why the Passenger Pigeon became extinct. He first does this by describing his journey around the former haunts of the Passenger Pigeon in present day

America and his conversations with people there about the pigeon. Having been so fascinated by the previous chapters, it took me some time to adjust to this travel log but I eventually warmed to Mark’s engaging and amusing style, which I suspect would appeal most to a British audience. The lessons learned from this trip, from the literature and an understanding of the ecology of the species, are used to assess the potential causes of the extinction of the species in the next chapter, which is then followed by a potted history of the United States during the decades up to the pigeon’s extinction. I have to confess, I had assumed that the species had simply been hunted to extinction, but Mark Avery concludes that the true cause may have been more complex. The final two chapters discuss why species extinctions matter and why this story is of relevance to the UK, where at present, one of our most rapidly declining species is another pigeon, the Turtle Dove.

This is an individual book, written by one of the most passionate conservationists of his generation. I find it a compelling read that I think will appeal to a wide range of people as it covers so much ground from ecology to history and population biology to travel writing. Although clearly written for a UK audience, it would be a shame if that meant it was not also read more widely, particularly in America. I would therefore encourage all who are interested in species conservation, to read Mark Avery’s message from Martha.

Book reviewed by James Pearce-Higgins

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