Dusky Seaside Sparrow

Dusky Seaside Sparrow
Conservation status
Extinct (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Emberizidae
Genus:	Ammodramus
Species:	A. maritimus
Subspecies:	A. m. nigrescens
Trinomial name
Ammodramus maritimus nigrescens (Ridgway, 1873)

The Dusky Seaside Sparrow, Ammodramus maritimus nigrescens, was a non-migratory subspecies of the Seaside Sparrow, found in Southern Florida in the natural salt marshes of Merritt Island and along the St. Johns River. The last definite known individual died on June 17, 1987^[1] and the species was officially declared extinct in December 1990.

Causes for extinction

Illustration by John James Audubon

Illustration by Martin Johnson Heade

The dusky's demise began in 1940 when DDT was sprayed on the marshes for the control of mosquitoes. This pesticide entered the bird's food chain which caused the population to go from 2,000 to 600 breeding pairs. When Merritt Island was flooded with the goal of reducing the mosquito population around Kennedy Space Center, the sparrows' nesting grounds were devastated, and their numbers plummeted. Later, the marshes surrounding the river were drained, to facilitate highway construction; this was a further blow. Eventually, pollution and pesticides took such a high toll that by 1979, only six dusky seaside sparrows were known to exist — all of whom were males; a female was last sighted in 1975.

Last specimens

Captive breeding of all remaining dusky seaside sparrows with the Scott's Seaside Sparrow (A. m. peninsulae) from Florida's gulf coast was approved in 1979. By 1980 five dusky seaside sparrows were in a captive breeding facility in Gainesville, Florida. One, banded in 1978 with an orange leg band was unique.

"Orange Band" was left by himself on the St. Johns Unit of the St. Johns NWR[1] after a yellow leg banded dusky was captured in 1979. Field observations of color banded sparrows from 1975 to 1979 indicated that dusky seaside sparrows seldom traveled more than a mile or two in their lifetimes. In April 1980, "Orange Band" was again observed on the St. Johns Unit, but was surprisingly captured in June eight miles south on the Beeline Unit in the company of a dusky with a green leg band. Before finding "Green Band", "Orange Band" passed the general vicinity of the two unbanded dusky seaside sparrows.

In 1983 the last four living dusky seaside sparrows were taken to Walt Disney World Resort, to continue crossbreeding and living out their days in a protected habitat on the Discovery Island nature reserve. By March 31, 1986, only "Orange Band" remained.

Despite being blind in one eye, "Orange Band" reached extreme old age for a sparrow, living at least nine years, and possibly as many as thirteen, before dying on June 17, 1987.

"Green Band" proved elusive, and was never recaptured after having been banded. He was last seen on July 23, 1980 (Walters 1992).

References

1. ^ June 9, 2008 page 45 Newsweek

• Walters, Mark Jerome (1992). A Shadow and A Song: The Struggle to Save Endangered Species. Post Mills, Vermont: Chelsea Green Publishing Co.. 

External links

• Earth Witness Community — Dusky Seaside Sparrow
• History of the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge
• Florida Bird Sounds — contains a sound of Dusky Seaside Sparrow and other birds of Florida.

This article about a bird of the family Emberizidae is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.v · Categories: IUCN Red List extinct species Ammodramus Bird extinctions since 1500 Species made extinct by human activities Extinct animals of the United States Animals described in 1873 Emberizidae stubs Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР? Stop the Violence Movement Alpheus S. Williams Look at other dictionaries: dusky seaside sparrow. — See under seaside sparrow. Also called dusky sparrow. * * * …   Universalium dusky seaside sparrow. — See under seaside sparrow. Also called dusky sparrow …   Useful english dictionary Seaside Sparrow — Taxobox name = Seaside Sparrow image width = 200px image caption = Male Dusky Seaside Sparrow ( Ammodramus maritimus nigrescens ) Extinct since June 17, 1987 status = LC status system = iucn3.1 regnum = Animalia phylum = Chordata classis = Aves… …   Wikipedia seaside sparrow — a species of sparrow, Ammospiza maritima, existing in two subspecies, one (Cape Sable seaside sparrow) having dark olive drab plumage with a lighter breast and underbelly, and the other (dusky seaside sparrow) having bold black and white markings …   Universalium American sparrow — American Sparrows American Tree Sparrow Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia …   Wikipedia Ammodramus — Taxobox name = Ammodramus image caption = Grasshopper Sparrow regnum = Animalia phylum = Chordata classis = Aves ordo = Passeriformes familia = Emberizidae genus = Ammodramus genus authority = Swainson, 1827 subdivision ranks = Species… …   Wikipedia List of extinct birds — This page refers only to birds that have gone extinct since the year 1500 A.D./C.E. and usually were subject to scientific study while alive.Since 1500, over 190 species of birds have become extinct, and this rate of extinction seems to be… …   Wikipedia June 17 — Events*1462 Vlad III the Impaler attempts to assassinate Mehmed II (The Night Attack) forcing him to retreat from Wallachia. *1497 Battle of Deptford Bridge forces under King Henry VII soundly defeat troops led by Michael An Gof. *1565 Matsunaga… …   Wikipedia 1987 — This article is about the year 1987. For the number, see 1987 (number). For other uses, see 1987 (disambiguation). Millennium: 2nd millennium Centuries: 19th century – 20th century – 21st century Decades: 1950s  1960s …   Wikipedia List of extinct animals of North America — This is an incomplete list of extinct animals of North America. This list covers only extinctions from the Holocene epoch, a geological period that extends from the present day back to about 10,000 radiocarbon years, approximately 11,430 ± 130… …   Wikipedia 18+ © Academic, 2000-2024 Contact us: Technical Support, Advertising Dictionaries export, created on PHP, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, MODx. Mark and share Search through all dictionaries Translate… Search Internet Share the article and excerpts Direct link … Do a right-click on the link above and select “Copy Link”