WHERE ARE THE WILD PIGEONS? 



453 



Rocky mountains, and in Shasta County, 

 Cal. Correspondence was at once be- 

 gun with T. J. Houston, Sheriff of Shasta 

 County; Alexander T. Vogelsang, of the 

 California State Board of Fish Commis- 

 sioners, ?.nd with Governor Budd and 

 others of the authorities. All responded 

 readily and kindly, and the query was re- 

 ferred by the Governor to the California 

 Academy of Sciences. The result was just 

 what I had anticipated. It is shown in the 

 following letter: 



San Francisco, Cal., June 17, 1897. 

 Dear Sir: Your letter of June 2, ad- 

 dressed to Gov. Budd, asking for informa- 

 tion regarding the Shasta pigeon-roost, 

 has been referred to the Academy for a 

 reply. 



We have heard of no such roost in the 

 locality mentioned, and the pigeon re- 

 ferred to is probably the Band-tailed 

 Pigeon (Columba fasciata) as the Passen- 

 ger Pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius) is not a 

 California bird. Yours truly, 



E. A. M. Illriach, 

 Assistant Secretary. 



So one dream of the return of the Pas- 

 senger Pigeon was soon dissipated. The 

 band-tailed pigeon of California is a fine 

 bird, but of quite another nature. It is 

 thus described by T. W. H. Shanahan, of 

 Anderson, Shasta Co., Cal.: 



Anderson, Shasta Co., Cal., 



July 21, 1897. 



Dear Sir: Your letter of June 2d, to 

 Governor Budd, relative to the wild pigeon 

 in this county, was referred to Professor 

 Le Conte, and by him to me. 



It is true there was a somewhat larger 

 flight of the wild pigeons in this county, 

 than usual, this year, but not to the extent 

 the papers would lead one to believe. 

 Every year we have a few, and in those 

 years in which the acorn is produced in 

 greater abundance, the pigeons materially 

 increase in numbers. This pigeon is of a 

 slaty blue color, with an iridescent ring y 2 

 to 24 °f an inch wide, and headed by a nar- 

 row white circle, around the neck. The 

 wings are wide and pointed and darker 

 toward the tips, and the tail, square. They 

 are similar to the English wood-pigeons in 

 marking, size, and habits. These birds are 

 of great vitality, and are able, when shot, 

 to carry a great deal of lead. When torn 

 almost to pieces, they are able to fly to 

 quite a distance. When they fall, it is in a 

 slanting manner, with wings outspread. 



Hoping this will be of service to you, I 

 am Very truly yours, 



T. W. H. Shanahan. 



Oddly enough, there is still a flock of 

 passenger pigeons in Wisconsin, though it 

 is an abnormal one. A flock of 14 escaped 



from confinement, in Milwaukee, toward 

 the end of last winter, and since then some 

 of the birds have been seen in Lake Park 

 in that city. Mr. Frederick Wahl, of 591 

 Frederick Street, Milwaukee, contributes 

 the subjoined details. 



" Dear Sir: Your letter in reference to 

 Wild Pigeons at hand. Mr. Whittaker, 

 who formerly had what was supposed to be 

 the only specimens of these once numerous 

 birds in captivity, lives at North Avenue 

 Bridge, this city. I learned from Mr. Whit- 

 taker that the pigeons got away from him, 

 while he was making alterations in his 

 house, last winter. He says he was told by 

 an attendant at Lake Park that his pigeons 

 were nesting in the park and that they had 

 been seen there, at various times, by the 

 said attendant. Mr. Whittaker informs me 

 he had 14 in all, the same being raised from 

 one pair of old birds. 



" Mr. Whittakertook great pride in show- 

 ing interested persons the pigeons and I 

 took a good look at them during last sum- 

 mer. They were, without a doubt, the gen- 

 uine article, the wild or passenger pigeons. 

 . . . They were in a space open on one 

 side and fed on grain, like other pigeons. 

 They were also fond of angleworms, which 

 were sometimes fed to them in summer." 



This is unimportant save as showing the 

 interest men feel in the great passenger 

 pigeon, that was and is not. 



But of more importance, perhaps, than 

 any information yet obtained, regarding 

 the present existence of the Passenger 

 Pigeon, is the testimony of Mr. A. Fugel- 

 berg, of Oshkosh, Wis., who says he 

 has seen different flocks of them during the 

 present year. He writes like a man who 

 knows, thoroughly, what he is talking 

 about. His letter is as follows: 



" It was I who saw the flights concerning 

 which inquiry has been made. I saw the 

 pigeons August 14th, between 6 and 7 

 o'clock a.m. They flew from Fisherman's 

 Point across the bay to Stonybeach, on the 

 West side of Lake Winnebago, and as I 

 live half waybetween the 2 points, which are 

 only about 1^2 miles apart, I had the pleas- 

 ure of seeing them very plainly. It was a 

 pleasure, for I had not seen any for a num- 

 ber of years. It reminded me of those years 

 from '58 to 'j6 when I saw them by thou- 

 sands fly over this same bay, and shot many 

 of them. These pigeons of the 14th of Au- 

 gust flew in flocks of 20 to 75. I saw only 

 7 flocks, but others may have passed before 

 I noticed the flight. Two flocks came with- 

 in gunshot of me; the others were from Y\ 

 to l /2 mile away. I called my boys, that 

 they might see the pigeons, as they had 

 never seen any before. One boy said it was 

 no wonder I had shot so many, in former 

 years, if they came like that! 



" These are all the facts I know, person- 



