In 1914, the passenger pigeon, once one of the most abundant bird species on earth, went extinct as the last known example, named Martha, died in captivity at the Cincinnati Zoo. In 2025, a research study warned that more than 500 bird species are likely to be wiped out from the face of the Earth in the next 100 years, due to climate change and habitat loss.
Researchers from the University of Reading in the UK noted that the number is three times higher than all bird extinctions recorded since 1500 CE.
