The Silent Sky: The Incredible Extinction of the Passenger Pigeon

by Allan W. Eckert

This nature novel, by following the hatching and lifetime experiences of the last know wild passenger pigeon, chronicles the life, natural history, and ultimate extinction of this species which was once the most abundant bird species in North America. The last wild bird was killed in 1900; the last captive bird died in 1914.

Genres: Birds, Animals, Nonfiction, History, Science, Natural History

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1965

About the author

Allan W. Eckert was an American historian, historical novelist, and naturalist.

Eckert was born in Buffalo, New York, and raised in the Chicago, Illinois area, but had been a long-time resident of Bellefontaine, Ohio, near where he attended college. As a young man, he hitch-hiked around the United States, living off the land and learning about wildlife. He began writing about nature and American history at the age of thirteen, eventually becoming an author of numerous books for children and adults. His children's novel, Incident at Hawk's Hill, was a runner-up for the Newbery Medal in 1972. One of his novels tells how the great auk went extinct.

In addition to his novels, he also wrote several unproduced screenplays and more than 225 Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom television shows for which he received an Emmy Award.

In a 1999 poll conducted by the Ohioana Library Association, jointly with Toni Morrison, Allan W. Eckert was voted "Favorite Ohio Writer of All Time."

Eckert died in his sleep on July 7, 2011, in Corona, California, at the age of 80.

Reviews

[Sarah]

It disturbs me that at the time of Audubon there was literally BILLIONS of passenger pigeons in the United States and then 100 years later, there were none.

This story mesmerized and convicted me. It nailed home the point that our actions affect the world around us. Sometimes irreversibly so.

I will never forget this story.

[Clayton Brannon]

What an incredibly emotional read. This small book should be mandatory reading. Written in novel form, a powerful account of the extinction of an entire species of birds in a very short period of time. From over three billion to zero.

[VerJean Mirrielees]

I teased on Facebook about Passenger Pigeon Romance and Sex !
Now you'll have to find a copy of this book to read those heart racing pages and the heart touching story of a Passenger Pigeon from hatching thru the end of his days and of his only surviving squab thru the end of her days.
Does the name "Martha" ring a bell ?
Unbelievable that these billions of birds were hunted and made extinct.
Compelling tribute to a species destroyed.

[Tom]

A sad and poignant book on the extinction of the passenger pigeon. Fascinating. Oh what damage mankind has done to his home planet and fellow creatures...

[C]

Solid. Good for youngsters, I think, and better than I expected it to be. I can tell it's written almost directly from A.W. Schorger's natural history, but the novelization works. The end made me sad, so there's also that.

Note that Martha's origin isn't quite accurately portrayed - she was transferred from another zoo, did not spend whole life in Cincinnati.

[Jonathan Woods]

Sad story about human nature.

[Laura]

I just finished one of the most heartbreaking books I've ever read. Published in 1965, this novel is a fictional account of the steady decline of the passenger pigeon, which once flew in flocks of perhaps billions of birds, to the death of the last individual in 1914, all at the hands of humans. I have always felt cheated to never have seen the sky-blackening flocks and angry at those who callously and pointlessly murdered all of them in a matter of decades. I gave this 5 stars because Eckert's writing provided an opportunity to see the world through the eyes of a Passenger Pigeon.

We humans never learn.

[Karen]

I first checked this book out of my local library when I was in grade school and have read it intermittently since. It's no longer available from my local public library so I was happy to find it on archive.org recently.

A good read. Fictionalized of course, but still well done. Of course it's improbable that "Buttons" (the nickname for the last known wild passenger pigeon due to his shoebutton eyes) was the sire of Martha, the very last passenger pigeon, but still a well told story. If you want a non fiction version as a counterpoint check out "A Feathered River Across The Sky".

[Salma]

A beautifully devastating detailed account of the last treacherous years of a magnificent species that went extinct in a very short period of time due to the thoughtlessness and greed of man. From billions of passenger pigeons to none in just fifty years. Absolutely haunting.

[Phil]

I enjoyed this but it was sad. Millions of birds hunted to extinction in less than a hundred years. I wonder if we could bring it back somehow?

[Henry Kline]

interesting information hidden in a story.

[Ray]

Physical book | I adore science based stories on nature an extinction. This was dribble. At least the author didn’t have the main character bird talk or it would have dragged out even longer. Why 3 stars? I don’t know, I guess it’s an important story. I may drop to two stars if I keep thinking about it.