The Carolina Parakeet was small, about 30 cm. (12 inches) long and weighed approximately 280 gram (10 ounces). Mostly green, the crown of the head and around the eyes and bill was orange. The rest of the head and neck was yellow. The tail was pointed. The male and female were similar.
The diet of the Carolina Parakeet were seeds of grasses, maple, elm, pine etc. and especially cocklebur (Xanthium sp.). After the forests were cleared for farms, the Carolina Parakeet switched to seeds of apple, peach, mulberry, pecan, grape, dogwood, and grains. They regularly foraged in grain fields and orchards causing considerable damage. They were also feeding off mineral-rich soil. In captivity they were fed canary grass seed, hemp, maize, oats and breadcrumbs.
In Captivity they were shy and wild as imported bird from the wild. Only hand-reared birds were tame. They were very noisy and hard chewier. They could be kept in a colony system. A metal flight was recommended because of chewing. They were even sometimes kept free flying.
Carolina Parakeets were social animals. They lived in pairs or small groups, but are also seen in flocks of 200-300 birds in feeding places. They were active during early morning and evening hours. They rested during day sleeping in foliage of leafy trees and roosted on the highest branches. These birds flew in early morning in small groups to feeding places and spent 2 to 3 hours there, then they flew to a water hole to drink. Like many parrots, they had the& unfortunate habit of returning to aid a wounded flock member. This made it possible for farmers to destroy whole flocks of the gregarious birds.
These birds were still common at the beginning of the 19th century, but in 1832, Audubon noted their decline. Its extinction was the result of the rapid cultivation of North America. This affected the parakeet in two ways. Its favorite habitat was destroyed and the birds were relentlessly persecuted, because their large flocks destroyed complete harvests of fruit farmers. They were considered a pest and large numbers were killed. The last bird collected probably was a female taken at Orlando, Florida, in December 1913. The species survived a couple of years as a cage-bird, until there were only Lady Jane and Incas. These two birds had shared a cage in Cincinnati Zoo for 32 years. When Lady Jane died she left Incas hearth-broken. Half a year later Incas died on 21 February 1918. It is suggested that Incas was not the very last of his species. Sightings of wild Carolina Parakeets have been recorded in the 1920's and even 1930's. But most of these have been dismissed as misidentifications.
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