Before the beginning of the 20th century, Americans, particularly in the east, witnessed enormous flocks of wild pigeons, later known as passenger pigeons. Sometimes there were so many birds that they eclipsed the sun.

In Knoxville, just after the Civil War, you could enjoy passenger pigeons on toast at a restaurant on Gay Street. Or join a shooting party across the river to see how many pigeons you could bag. Yet by 1914 the passenger pigeon became extinct.

How could a bird that thrived in such numbers disappear from the skies? And who in Knoxville was thinking about the loss of America’s wildlife?

Paul James will delve into the history of the passenger pigeon through the lens of Knoxville. Plus, as the long-lost ivory-billed woodpecker was recently added to the officially extinct bird list, he’ll also look at two latter-day Knoxvillians who most likely were the last to see that majestic woodpecker in the Louisiana swamps.

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