Should scientists bring passenger pigeons back from extinction?

Passenger pigeons once made up 40 percent of North America's bird population. Today the birds are extinct, but there is hope that the species could be revived.

Molecular biologists are looking into ways to regenerate the species, but are running into opposition from conservationists who are worried this will lessen the urgency when it comes to saving endangered species.

Will Souder wrote about it for Smithsonian Magazine:

Yet many researchers believe that what we might learn from resurrecting a passenger pigeon could ultimately pay big dividends. Jonathan Coddington, the Smithsonian's associate director of science, is among those who see benefits. "This work is an interesting technical challenge," Coddington says. "And it's certain that genetic engineering is going to aid conservation and biodiversity efforts in the coming years."

Because avian behavior results from a mix of genetics and the imprinting of parental actions, no one knows how a re-engineered passenger pigeon would learn to be a passenger pigeon. Perhaps the birds would be little more than a genetic approximation of their extinct relatives, unable to survive in the wild. "A passenger pigeon in a glass--even if possible--would still be just a passenger pigeon in a glass," says Coddington.

Souder joins The Daily Circuit to talk about bringing back the passenger pigeon.