130 LAND BIRDS 



your feet, you could not find them were your eyes ten- 

 fold sharper. I have groped carefully on hands and 

 knees among them, and actually touched one before I saw 

 it at all. For the desert hides its secrets well, and the 

 little grouse have learned to trust to it for safety. 



These broods unite with others in the same locality, 

 forming coveys of a hundred or more individuals, and as 

 cold weather advances, they retreat to their snow shel- 

 ters at the timber edge. This is the time the hunters 

 go forth to seek them, for the flesh of the young is not 

 yet tainted with the bitterness of sage diet, and in that 

 barren region game is scarce. 



312. BAND -TAILED FIGEO^ . — Columba fasdata. 

 Family : The Pigeons, or Doves. 



Length: 15.00-16.00. 



Adult Male : Upper parts grayish brown, browner on the back, bluer on 

 the rump, high neek bronzy green, crossed by narrow collar of white ; 

 head and under parts metallic purplish, becoming pink on belly and 

 gray on the sides ; belly whitish ; end of tail crossed by broad band 

 of pearl-gray, bordered by black on the upper edge ; wing-coverts 

 narrowly edged with white. 



Adult Feinale : Similar to male, but duller and grayer. 



YouTig : Without white on nape ; upper parts paler ; under parts gray, 

 washed with brown. 



Geographical Distribution: Western United States from Eocky Moun- 

 tains to the Pacific, south through Mexico to Guatemala, through 

 the Transition zone. 



California Breeding Range : Mountains of Southern California. 



Breeding Season : May, June, July, and August. 



Nest : A thin platform of sticks, in trees or bushes near water ; some- 

 times on the ground. 



Sggs: 2 ; white. Size 1.50 X 1-20. 



The Band-tailed, or White-collared, Pigeon is irregu- 

 larly distributed from the Rocky Mountains to the 



