This installation runs through May 23 at the Barbican in London, after which the lead bird will develop an intractable substance abuse problem and the flock will break up to perform various solo projects.

Approximately 99% of all the species that have ever existed are now extinct, and man had nothing to do with most of that. But the passenger pigeon? This one’s on us.  And we didn’t do it by slowly destroying their habitat — we actually blasted every last one of them out of the sky. Although in truth, the very last one one died in captivity. According to the Encyclopedia Smithsonian,

The last known individual of the passenger pigeon species was “Martha” (named after Martha Washington). She died at the Cincinnati Zoological Garden, and was donated to the Smithsonian Institution, where her body was once mounted in a display case with this notation:

MARTHA — Last of her species, died at 1pm, 1 September 1914, age 29, in the Cincinnati Zoological Garden — EXTINCT

This feat of annihilation is all the more remarkable when you consider its scope — firsthand accounts of their migrations describe enormous flocks darkening the skies for days. (What would it be like if this was still happening in modern America?) The extinction of species, avian migration, and memory have inspired a new exhibition at the Bell Gallery by artist Rachel Berwick — Zugunruhe*. The ‘birds’ are in the second room, but stop and read at least some of the text (eyewitness reports) on the walls in the first room. It prepares your mind.

David Winton Bell Gallery, Brown University, 64 College Street, 863.2932, through February 14

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For a fairly urban state, Rhode Island has a healthy dose of raptors — from the peregrine falcons that keep our pigeon population tolerably low to the vultures that permanently circle 295 to the red-tailed hawks, like the one I snapped above my Providence office entrance, that — well, I guess they keep our metro-bunny population in check, as this one was heartily eating a rabbit at the time.

The Audubon Society of Rhode Island is hosting Raptor Weekend, where you can view eagles, owls, hawks and vultures in live-flight demonstrations and learn other cool stuff, too. Check here for a full schedule of today and tomorrow’s events. You might want to leave Fluffy and Nibbles at home.

$10 adults/$5 kids/$25 for family 4-pack, Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 12 and 13, 10am to 4pm both days, 1401 Hope Street (Rte 114), Bristol