LAND BIRDS. 251 



and in 1908 there were but seven left, six males and a single female, ap- 

 parently barren. Since that time all the remaining birds of both flocks 

 have died, with the possible exception of a female which Dr. Whitman 

 sent to the Cincinnati Zoological Society in 1902, which was infertile in 1909 

 at the age of thirteen years. At that time the Cincinnati Society had a 

 single male left, about twenty-four years old and not likely long to survive. 

 For a history of the Milwaukee flock, with interesting details of the life of 

 the pigeon in captivity, the reader is referred to Mr. Mershon's book already 

 cited. 



The belief that the Passenger Pigeon was a bird of remarkable vitality, 

 endurance, and powers of flight undoubtedly has a good foundation, but 

 all these powers combined might prove useless against that dominating 

 fear which compelled the bird to turn from the known dangers of civiliza- 

 tion — the axe, the gun, and the forest fire, toward the inhospitable and 

 semi-arctic regions of the far north. We may hope that a remnant of 

 the great hordes which once swept over our state still exists somewhere 

 and may eventually restock our forests, but it must be confessed that this 

 is far more a hope than an expectation, and with each succeeding year 

 this hope grows fainter. 



TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION. 



Adult male: Entire head, including sides and chin, together with back of neck, back, 

 rump and most of upper surface of wings, clear plumbeous or bright slate-blue, the scapulars 

 and tertiaries with a few large black spots, the lesser wing-coverts with similar but smaller 

 ones; lower throat, breast, sides and belly, rich reddish brown, deepest on throat and chest, 

 paler and more pinkish (vinaceous) on the sides and abdomen; sides of neck and base 

 of neck behind with a rich, metallic, red-purple iridescence; anal region and under tail- 

 coverts white; wings brownish black, several of the shorter primaries with broad bluish- 

 white areas on the outer webs near the base, and a narrow white edging even to the tips; 

 two middle tail-feathers entirely black, the rest slate blue at base, grading into pure white 

 at tip, each feather with a broad black area and a bright brown "tliumb-mark" on the inner 

 web near the base. Bill black; feet and iris red. Female: Similar as to wings and tail, 

 which, however, are dull slate instead of black; black spots on the wing-coverts tending 

 to form two or more bars; no clear slate blue anywhere, but head and neck mainly brownish- 

 gray, the back and breast grayish-brown, and the sides of the neck glossed with metallic 

 colors as in the male, but much more faintly. Young birds resemble the adult female 

 somewhat, but most of the feathers above and below have distinct white margins, and the 

 light borders on the wing-feathers are broader, giving a mottled appearance. 



Length of male 15 to 17.25 inches; wing 8 to 8.50; tail 8.20 to 8.75. Female and young 

 somewhat smaller. 



129. Mourning Dove. Zenaidura macroura carolinensis (Linn.). (316) 



Synonyms: Carolina Dove, Turtle Dove, Dove— Columba carolinensis, Linn., 1766, 

 Wils., Aud., Nutt. and others. — Turtur carolinensis, Briss. — Ectopistes carolinensis, 

 Rich. — Columl)a marginata, Linn., Wagl. — Ectopistes marginata, Gray. 



Plate XVII and Figures 64, 65, 66. 



Not likely to be mistaken for any other bird, with the exception of the 

 Passenger Pigeon. It differs from the latter in its decidedly smaller size, 

 in having fourteen tail-feathers instead of twelve, and in having a distinct 

 blue-black spot on the side of the neck. 



Distribution. — Temperate North America; from southern Maine, southern 

 Canada, and British Columbia, south to Panama and the West Indies, 

 breeding tliroughout its North American range. 



