175 
In the spring the species forms vast flocks that move irregularly 
about; and considerable more or less justified complaint against them comes 
from farmers whose newly sowed crops they have settled upon. It does 
not seem that they commonly take other than surface grain, and drilling 
it in should normally afford ample protection against damage to small 
grain. They are especially partial to peas and are said to pull up the 
sprouting seeds. The flocks so engaged are described as being numerous 
enough to turn the colour of the fields they alight upon from brown to blue. 
As they are large birds, each one intent on filling a capacious crop, their 
power for damage is not small. In the autumn they alight on the 
stooked grain and may take a considerable toll of it. It is fortunate that 
the birds are very irregular and local in their habits. One field may suffer 
one season, whereas others, apparently equally attractive, are untouched. 
The next season appreciable flocks may be totally absent from the neigh- 
bourhood and appear in an unexpected quarter. In British Columbia, 
at least, there is at present no fear for the survival of the species and when 
it becomes at all numerous its numbers can easily be reduced. They are 
exceedingly wary and with us seem well able to take care of themselves. 
Periodically old-time eastern Pigeon-hunters note this western species 
and exultantly proclaim the rediscovery of the Passenger Pigeon that 
dropped from sight so suddenly as to suggest change in range rather than 
extermination. Unfortunately no such explanation can be accepted and 
the merest comparison of the long, slender, rosy-breasted Passenger 
Pigeon with this heavy, round-tailed, purplish bird shows the error of the 
supposition. 
315. Passenger Pigeon, wild pigeon. Ectopistes migra orius. L, 16*29. Plate 
XXIV A. Larger than the Mourning Dove, but smaller than the Band-tailed, though 
measuring more through its long, tapering tail (Figure 199). Much like the Mourning 
Dove in colour and outline, but more richly coloured. 
Distinctions. The Passenger Pigeon was never more than a straggler west of the 
mountains, but as the Mourning Dove has been so often mistaken for it the following 
distinctions should be noted. It was considerably larger than the Mourning Dove — 
wing 8 inches or over instead of 6 inches or under. Females and juveniles similar to the 
Mourning Dove in colour, but the adult male had a decidedly red throat and breast, was 
slate-blue on head and back, and never had the small black spot below the ear that is 
characteristic of the Mourning Dove. Only two middle tail feathers were dark to the 
tip instead of four (compare Figure 199 with 200). 
Field Marks. The species being extinct, field marks are unnecessary. 
Nesting. In rough nest of sticks in trees, in large communities. 
Distribution. Bred formerly in the wooded sections of Canada east of the mountains, 
from Mackenzie valley to the east coast and southward. Wintered in the southern 
states. Once common in Manitoba, but last recorded in 1898. Records for the southern 
parts of the other Prairie Provinces are few and unsatisfactory. The species is now extinct, 
the last bird having died in captivity in 1914. 
