238 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE. 



Order XL COLUMB^. Pigeons and Doves. 

 Family 35. COLUMBIDJi]. Pigeons. 



KEY TO SPECIES. 



A. Larger. Tail-feathers twelve; sides of neck without black spot. 



Passenger Pigeon. No. 128. 

 A A. Smaller. Tail-feathers fourteen; a small but distinct black spot on 



each side of the neck. Mourning Dove. No. 129. 



128. Passenger Pigeon. Ectopistes migratorius (Lf;m.). (315) 



Synonyms: Wild Pigeon, Pigeon, Wood Pigeon, Red-breasted Pigeon, Blue-headed 

 Pigeon, incorrectly Carrier Pigeon. — Columba migratoria, Linn., 1766, Gm., Forst., Wils., 

 Aud. — Ectopistes migratoria, Swains., 1827, and authors generally. — Columba canadensis, 

 Linn. — Columba Americana, Kalm. 



Plates XV XVI, XVII. 



The dove-like form and long, pointed tail will separate this species from 

 any of our birds except the Mourning Dove, and from this it may be known 

 at once (with the bird in hand) by its large size, the total absence of the 

 small black spot on each side of the neck, and the possession of but twelve 

 tail-feathers instead of fourteen. At a distance of fifty yards, however, 

 none of these points serves, and I doubt that any one could surely dis- 

 criminate the two species unless they were seen together, or some other 

 bird whose identity was known were close at hand for comparison of size. 

 The slate-blue head and ruddy breast of the adult male are very different 

 from those of the Mourning Dove, but females and immature birds do not 

 possess these marks. 



Distribution. — Formerly eastern North America, from Hudson Bay 

 southward, and west to the Great Plains, straggling thence to Nevada 

 and Washington. Breeding range mainly restricted to portions of Canada 

 and northern border of the United States as far west as Manitoba and the 

 Dakotas. Now probably extinct. 



Formerly the Wild Pigeon was one of the best known birds of the state, 

 appearing in immense flocks nearly every spring and almost invariably 

 in autumn in all parts of the state. Where "mast" was abundant small 

 numbers lingered until snow came, and a few frequently remained in the 

 southern counties through mild winters. The great invasions, however, 

 by hundreds of thousands or even millions, usually took place suddenly 

 in April, and the birds began nesting early in May. 



This species was always partial to hardwood growths, and a large 

 "nesting" or "roost," as it was often called, was almost always located 

 in or near an extensive area of hardwood timber where food was abundant. 

 When a nesting tract had been selected, however, the pigeons used trees of 

 every kind — beech maple, birch, oak tamarack, cedar (arbor vitse), 

 hemlock, pine, etc., and scores, or even a hundred nests were placed in a 



