PIGEONS 
253 
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the reward was never earned, and was finally withdrawn.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. 
319. White- winged Dove, la tourterelle a aileb blanches. Melopelia a&iatica. 
L, 12. Similar to the Mourning Dove in size and general coloration, but with a round tail 
and much white on the wings. 
Distinctions. A Mourning Dove with a round tail white-tipped except for the centre 
feathers, and a pronounced white patch on the wings including secondaries and their 
coverts. 
Field Marks. A Mourning Dove with above characters. 
Distribution. Southeastern California east to Texas and southward. Also Florida 
and some of the West Indies. Casual visitor northward on the coast and single records 
for the state of Washington and southern Vancouver Island. 
SUBSPECIES. The western form Melopelia asiatica mearnsi is the only one to 
be expected in western Canada. 
To be identified only by unmistakable evidence or actual specimen. 
Order — Cueuliformes. Cuckoos 
General Description. Birds with weak feet and yoke toes (two toes directed forward 
and two backward) . The bills are rather long, gently curved, and sharply pointed (Figure 
376). The plumage is soft and thin, lacking in cohesion, and has the soft, silky feeling 
associated with many tropical species. The tail is long, soft, and graduated. 
Distinctions. May be distinguished from the woodpeckers, which also have yoke 
toes, by the difference in the bills and tails. In the woodpeckers, the bills are straight, 
stout, the tip chisel-pointed, and the tail rather short, very stiff, and bristle-like at the 
tip (Figure 391a, page 277). 
The cuckoos are largely tropical in distribution. The two Canadian 
cuckoos are outliers from the main body of species in warmer latitudes. 
They are possessed of a tropical grace and air that are out of keeping with 
northern climes. This is exhibited in their lithe, sinuous carriage; full, 
round, deep throat; long, graceful tail; and thin but soft and silky plumage. 
They haunt hot and humid jungles of shrubbery, and flit across the open 
spaces with a silent undulating flight that seems in harmony with their 
exotic nature. English literature is rich in references to the cuckoos, but 
little that is so said is applicable to the Canadian cuckoo. The latter is not 
78916 — 17 
