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FAMILY COLUMBINiE. 



PIGEONS. 



GENUS ECTOPISTES — SWAINSON. 



LONG-TAILED DOVE. 



[Bill short, rather slender, straight — broader than high at the base ; head 

 small ; neck of moderate length ; body rather slender ; feet short ; tarsus as short 

 as the hind toe and claw — the upper half clothed with feathers ; inner toe longed 

 than the outer.] 



ECTOPISTES MIGRATORIA— LINN. 



WANDERING LONG-TAILED DOVE. 



Passenger Pigeon, Columba migratoria, Wils. Amer. Orn. 



Columba migratoria, Bonap. Syn. 



Columba (Ectopistes) migratoria, Sw. & Rich. 



Passenger Pigeon, Nuit. Man. 



Passenger Pigeon, Columba migtatoria, Aud. Orn. Biog. 



Specific Character — Tail consisting of fourteen feathers ; irides 

 red. Adult male with the bill black ; head and hind neck slate 

 color ; lower part of the hind neck and sides of the neck changing 

 to golden green and crimson ; fore neck and breast brownish-red j 

 abdomen and lower tail coverts white ; tail feathers light blue at the 

 base, terminating with white ; a black band on the inner webs at 

 the base, the middle pair of that color ; upper parts blue, lighter on 

 the hind part of the back ; wings dark brown, margined with white 

 coverts slate color, spotted with black ; sides of the body light blue. 

 Female smaller than the male, with the upper parts inclining to 

 yellowish-brown ; lower parts dull white ; the breast tinged with 

 yellowish-brown. Length sixteen inches, wing eight. 



The Common Wild Pigeon is said to inhabit North America 

 from the Gulf of Mexico to Hudson's Bay. Many are said to re- 

 main at the latter place as late as December, its migrations depending 

 entirely upon the supply of food. It makes casual visits to all parts 

 of the United States, but is no where so abundant as [spoken of by 

 Wilson and Audubon] in our western forests ; where it is attracted 



