BAXD-TAILED PIGEON 



577 



numbers have been greatly diminished. Despite this reduction, espe- 

 cially evident during recent years, this pigeon had never received one 

 iota of legal protection from the people of California until the year 

 1915. But, happily, with the passage of the Federal Migratory Bird 

 Law in 1913, the national government prescribed a five-year closed 

 season for the species, and the outlook now is favorable for its per- 

 sistence. 



The range of the Band-tailed Pigeon extends from the Rocky 

 Mountains to the Pacific Coast, and from British Columbia to Nic- 

 aragua. It is, in a way, complementary to that of the now entirely 

 extinct Passenger Pigeon. But while the latter occurred over most 



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^**^:-^i. 





Fig. 86. Head of Band-tailed Pigeon. Natural size (no. 15619). 



of the eastern half of the North American continent, the western 

 bird is not found uniformly over all parts of its general range, being 

 most common in the mountains of middle altitude, and absent from 

 the plains and deserts. 



In a -general way it may be said that in the north and at high 

 altitudes the Band-tailed Pigeon is only a summer visitant. To be 

 more explicit, the species summers in the belts of black oak and golden 

 oak (Transition life zone), whether these be in the northern part ol 

 its range or at the south. In the latter case the higher altitudes of 

 the mountain ranges resorted to afford temperature conditions similar 

 to those found at lower levels to the northward. In winter the pigeon 

 migrates to more southerly latitudes, or to lower altitudes, which- 

 ever may be necessary in order to reach a suitable winter climate. 

 From the data at hand it seems probable that the pigeons of the 

 Rocky Mountain region winter on the Mexican plateau entirely south 

 of the United States boundary, whence there are many instances of 



