Band-tailed Pigeon

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Band-tailed Pigeon
Conservation status
Least concern (LC)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Columbiformes Family: Columbidae Genus: Patagioenas Species: P. fasciata
Binomial name
Patagioenas fasciata (Say, 1823)
Synonyms
Columba fasciata Say, 1823

The Band-tailed Pigeon, Patagioenas fasciata (see Johnson et al., 2001), is a medium-sized bird of the Americas.

It ranges from British Columbia, Utah, and Colorado south in higher elevations through Mexico and Central America to northern Argentina. In autumn it migrates out of the part of its range north of California, New Mexico, and west Texas. Populations from Costa Rica south are sometimes considered a separate species, the White-naped Pigeon, C. albilinea. It is found at altitudes from 900 m to 3600 m, generally in oak, pine-oak, and coniferous forests. It feeds on seeds, notably acorns.

It is the biggest pigeon in North America, averaging 34 to 36 cm (14–15 in) long and weighing 250–450 g. The plumage is gray, somewhat darker above. The head and underparts have a faint pink cast, especially in the adult male; the belly is nearly white. The distal half of the tail is also pale (except in the subspecies of Baja California), whence the English name. The bill and feet are yellow, good identification marks at sufficiently close range. Adults have green iridescence on the back of the neck, adjacent to a thin white collar on the nape. Juvenile birds have white feather edges above, giving a scaly appearance.

This species is relatively quiet for a pigeon. Its voice is low-pitched and owl-like, often in two-syllable calls.

It builds a rudimentary platform nest out of twigs, in which it lays one or two eggs. Outside the breeding season it forms flocks, sometimes over 50 birds, and often becomes nomadic, following the acorn crop or moving to lower altitudes or other areas outside its breeding range. It often visits bird feeders.

The parasitic louse Columbicola extinctus, believed to have become extinct with the extinction of the Passenger Pigeon, was recently rediscovered on the Band-tailed Pigeon.

[edit] References

• BirdLife International (2004). Patagioenas fasciata. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
• Howell, Steve N. G. & Webb, Sophie(1994): A Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-854012-4
• Johnson, Kevin P.; de Kort, Selvino; Dinwoodey, Karen, Mateman, A. C.; ten Cate, Carel; Lessells, C. M. & Clayton, Dale H. (2001): A molecular phylogeny of the dove genera Streptopelia and Columba. Auk 118(4): 874-887. PDF fulltext
• Sibley, David Allen (2000): The Sibley Guide to Birds. Knopf. ISBN 0-679-45122-6

[edit] External links

• Page from El Zoológico Electrónico (in Spanish)
• The Extinction Website
• Extinction forum