The Carolina parakeet was the only species native to the eastern United States.
As the only parrot species native to the eastern United States, Carolina parakeets used to be prevalent from southern New York and Wisconsin to the Gulf of Mexico.
The last Carolina parakeet died in February 1918 at the Cincinnati Zoo, but the birds weren’t officially declared extinct until 1939. A combination of habitat loss, pest control, and humans using their feathers to adorn hats, contributed to the downfall of this species.
