reproduce to create dusky sparrows, since they did not share the proper mtDNA that dusky sparrows possess. However, research done on a similar species known as Passerella iliaca, or the fox sparrow, was able to show that some subspecies of one plumage group had the plumage of another despite having the "wrong" mtDNA type. This potentially meant that if the breeding program was continued with the dusky sparrow hybrids, sparrows with the same color plumage as the dusky sparrows would eventually be produced. Unfortunately, shortly after the breeding program was halted, the remaining hybrid sparrows either died or escaped captivity, leading to the final extinction of the taxon. "Green Band" proved elusive, and was never recaptured after having been banded. He was last seen on July 23, 1980. Footnotes References External links Earth Witness Community — dusky seaside sparrow History of the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge Florida Bird Sounds — contains a sound of dusky seaside sparrow and other birds of Florida. Ammospiza Species made extinct by human activities Extinct animals of the United States Extinct birds of North America Bird extinctions since 1500 Birds described in 1873 Taxa named by Robert Ridgway