176 
The immense flocks of Passenger Pigeons that once darkened the air 
were one of the wonders of America. The descriptions of their number, if 
they were not circumstantial and well vouched for by men of undoubted 
veracity, would sound like wild stretches of the imagination; flocks, so 
dense that haphazard shots into them would bring down numbers, travelled 
rapidly with a front miles in width and so long that it took hours to pass a 
given point. Audubon estimates one such flock as containing over a 
billion birds, basing his figures upon the density and area of the congre- 
gation and not by mere guess. They bred in dense rookeries where their 
weight often broke the branches from forest trees. Trees containing 
their nests were cut down and though each nest contained only one squab 
there were so many that the pigs were turned in to feed upon them. Later, 
the netting of pigeons was the occupation of professional fowlers who 
shipped their proceeds by the car-load to the centres of population. Of 
course, not even the immense numbers of the Passenger Pigeons could 
stand such attacks without diminution. To suggest a halt in the proceed- 
ings at that time, however, aroused nothing but ridicule, their num- 
bers being held to be inexhaustible, but today the species is extinct and the 
single survivor, a captive bird, died in Cincinnati a short time ago. The last 
great rookery was near Petoskey, Mich. In the autumn of 1878 the birds 
left on their usual migration, but failed to return in commercial numbers 
the following spring. For a few years afterwards occasional small flocks 
were seen and isolated rookeries were reported, but as the fowlers investi- 
gated each case it became apparent that the netting of pigeons as an 
occupation was a thing of the past. Thereafter, the birds became fewer 
and fewer each year until they disappeared altogether. There are oc- 
casional rumours even yet of flocks occurring in out-of-the-way places, 
in the western mountains, in Mexico, or South America, and elsewhere, 
but in each case investigation has proved that the reports are based on 
other species or on misinformation. For several years a large reward 
was offered for news of a single nesting pair. Of course, the author of the 
reward was flooded with reports, but not a single case stood examination, 
the reward was never earned, and was finally withdrawn. In the east, 
the Mourning Dove was the usual basis of report, in the west the Band- 
tailed Pigeon. Even yet rumours and circumstantial accounts of Passenger 
Pigeons still extant appear from time to time, vouched for by those who 
remember the bird in their childhood, but there is little doubt that the 
species is extinct. 
Figure 200 
Tail of Mourning Dove (under side); 
scale, 
316. Mourning Dove (Including Western and Dusky Mourning Doves). Carolina 
dove. Zenaidura, macroura. L, 11*85. Plate XXIV A. A small Pigeon with a pointed 
tail much like the Passenger Pigeon in colour and outline, but duller m colour. 
Distinctions . The Mourning Dove occurs nearly all over the southern parts of 
Canada. It is easily separated from the Band-tailed Pigeon of the west coast by its smaller 
size, fawn coloration, and long, pointed tail (Figure 200). It is often mistaken for the 
