The Ottawa Naturalist. 



[March 



THE DISAPPEARANCE OF THE PASSENGER PIGEON. 



James H. Fleming, Toronto, Ont. 



The disappearance of the passenger pigeon in Ontario dates 

 back at least forty years, though as late as 1870 some of the old 

 roosts were still frequented, but the incredible flocks, of which 

 so much has been said, had gone long before that date, and by. 

 1880 the pigeon was practically exterminated, not only in Ontario, 

 but over the greater part of its old range. There are, however,) 

 occasional records of birds taken, for some years later, an imma- 

 ture bird taken Sept. 9, 1887, in Chester county, Pennsylvania 

 is said to be the last for that part of the state, (1) a bird also im- 

 mature is in my collection taken in December 1888, at Montreal^ 

 Quebec ; there are other Montreal records of the same date (2) but 

 with the exception of one taken at Tadousac, July 20, 1889, (3) 

 these are last Quebec records of birds actually taken. In Ontario 

 two were taken at Toronto in 1890, on September 20, and October, 

 11, both immature females, the latter is in my collection, as is 

 an adult female taken by Mr. Walter Brett, at Riding Mountain. 

 Man., May 12, 1892, one of a pair seen. I also have an aduLt. 

 male taken at Waukegon, 111., Dec. 19, 1892. I was in New 

 York in the latter part of Nov. 1892 and was then assured byj 

 Mr. Rowland, a well known taxidermist, that he had recently 

 seen several barrels of pigeons that had been condemned as unfit 

 for food, they had come to New York from the Indian Territory (4) 

 and I believe had had their tails pulled out to permit of tighter 

 packing. Mr. Wm. Brewster has recorded the sending of sev- 

 eral hundred dozens of pigeons to the Boston market in December 

 of the same year, and in January, 1S93; these were also from 

 Indian Territory ; these are the last records we have of the pas- 

 senger pigeon as any thing more than a casual migrant. The 



(1) Proceedings of the Delaware Valley Ornithological Club, II, 1898, 17. 



(2) Wintle, Birds of Montreal, 189A 51. 



(3) In collection of Dr. J. Dvvight, Jr. 



(4) Minot, Birds of New England, 1895, 395- 



