Santa arrived early! We’re so excited to introduce our newest team member, Martha the Mourning Dove. She joined us earlier this year as a young dove with severe eye trauma. As she grew older, her right eye never developed, leaving her with only half of her vision. Because she could not fly straight with just one functional eye, she was deemed non-releasable. Now, Martha will help us raise awareness in our community as an Educational Ambassador bird. We can’t think of a better gift!

Her name is a tribute to the last recorded Passenger Pigeon, also named Martha, who lived at the Cincinnati Zoo. Passenger Pigeons, once among the most common bird species, went extinct in 1914 due to overhunting and habitat loss. To protect our native bird species from suffering a similar fate, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act was enacted. This law safeguards native birds from being hunted, illegally kept as pets, and from the collection of their feathers, eggs, and nests.

This Christmas, we wish for a future where extinction events like that of the Passenger Pigeon never happen again—a future where all birds can soar freely.