What about this bird leads you to believe it was a passenger pigeon and not a mourning dove or other species? Overhead, an incredibly shiny object quickly flew past me and over the pond and out of sight. Would you like to share anything about yourself? There have been no confirmed sightings of wild Passenger Pigeons since 22nd March 1922, and no unconfirmed reports since the 1930's. It was a typical bright summer day and I nearly went inside until a bright red flash caught my eye. I personally like to believe that the foolish and selfish actions of men were not enough to destroy this once thriving species and that a population of them still survives in areas untouched by human hands. The bird got nervous as I tried to get near it on the ground so I turned my back on it walking into the garden to try and get a different angle. Other photos (previously sent) may be available from this website or I can post later but these are 3 of the best. But the problem with there being so many is that they were very easy to hunt. I know that this may the wrong forum to say this, but I have been a hunting since my teens (now 56), and I have seen thousands of doves over the years. Reports of passenger pigeon sightings kept coming in from Arkansas and Louisiana, in groups of tens and twenties, until the first decade of the 20th century. The way it flew was identical to how most finches, songbirds, and woodpeckers do (a few quick flaps of the wings, a short pause where it lowers slightly, then a few more wing-beats to return to its original height). actual visual observation appears to be exactly what I have seen in these photos and in actual museums. The wings, head, and tail seemed disproportionately small compared to the belly, although it could be attributed to my poor memory or the glare messing up my vision. No audio available. Oddly, the sidewalk was busy at the time, with a truck unloading what appeared to be large propane cylinders tens of feet down that same city block, but the bird didn't seem spooked by that activity or by the slow street traffic in close proximity. This isn't the shorter half-circle fan on mourning doves, but rather hanging lower behind the bird and lighter in color, as though it's dragging an almost circular fan of white feathers. Name of birdwatcher: Alexis Toxqui I really truly believe these birds still exist and live among us Unfortunately, no, though I tried yet again. ***** Since I collect photos on the net and have myself taken of mounted specimens of passenger pigeons my sighting and a mourning dove. Yes. Deforestation and Hunting Doomed the Passenger Pigeon . POWERED BY MERLIN. Date of sighting: February 24, 2017 ***** Do you have a photo of the sighting? During that investigation, I noticed that a large raptor landed on a building around the same time of day as the St. Patrick's Day sighting. I've posted two of the clearer pictures on this page below, with an enhanced version of each (color saturation boosted). Passenger pigeons fed their young with crop milk for three or four days, and then abandoned their hatchlings a week or so later, at which point the newborn birds had to figure out (on their own) how to leave the nest and scavenge for their own food. I have 3 handy. "I dismounted, seated myself on an eminence, and began to mark with my pencil, making a dot for every flock that passed. I ran in to get the camera. They were members of both the pigeon and dove family. Tweet Passenger Pigeon in Fredericksburg, 2 My property appears to be on some kind of major migration route for all kinds of waterfowl and various bird species. They would shoot and kill as many birds as they could in order to sell the meat. ***** Passenger pigeons bred in small groups in the south of the province and were seen as far north as Hudson Bay. Once we got home (well after seven or eight o’clock) I dug through my birding encyclopedias and the Internet but found nothing that could be a definite match. Identification. ***** I suspect that the raptor may have a habit of hunting in that area, and that it frightened the passenger pigeon enough to fly down a city street to escape. I have lived on my small farm for 38 years. Description of sighting: The weather was clear and bright. But I do remember the croaking, long, thin, mourning dove-like bird landing on the top of the academy in Virginia Beach, and that bird's tail fan appeared to be so long that it looked like an additional, almost ornamental, fan dragging behind the bird, though I assume a part of that was due to the extra length of the bird itself. I got a very good look at the bird and it definitely was not a raptor or a dove. It was not possible to reestablish the species with a few captive birds. This sightings page is meant to benefit the birding community, and I'll maintain it because the bird banding lab and other official bird reporting sites don't … They may have been grayish, but the dappled light kept their bodies in shadow and so I couldn't see any exact colors or markings. Many people believe that the last Passenger Pigeon went extinct on September 1st, 1914 while in captivity at the Cincinnati Zoo. "On The Passenger Pigeon" Birds of America. No evidence in the literature seems to corroborate this rumor but likely rests on some evidence. Their chests were covered in iridescent display feathers that were seen as either bright bronze, or violet/golden green depending on the angle. Reports of Passenger Pigeon sightings kept coming in from Arkansas and Louisiana, in groups of tens and twenties, until the first decade of the 20th century. These birds are members of the  Paradisaeidae family and are most often found in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Australia. The passenger pigeon had no known subspecies. The temperature was about 60 degrees (unusually warm for the time of year). I have seen a few larger specimens of mourning doves over the years but no dove that looked anything like this. Finally, I've noticed that acorns from last year's season are plentiful around Fredericksburg, both in the trees and on the ground. It was also larger than a normal mourning dove's bill. They might not return to that area for years, if ever. In PP-3 photo white marks on neck are branch interference and do not show in any other photo or were visible by me at the time of the sighting. I've freed dozens of them from my blueberry nets. Do you have a photo of the sighting? ***** Their heads were slightly smaller than their other body parts and when compared to the size of their chests, it seemed even smaller. When the sun was about halfway down the sky, it didn’t return from it’s back and forth flight. That’s a lot of birds. I've seen a lot of grayish mourning doves in Wisconsin this year and have been able to photograph a few of them. Location of sighting: Leslie, Missouri The naturalist Charles Dury, of Cincinnati, Ohio, wrote in September 1910: One foggy day in October 1884, at 5 a.m. Sorry, but I … Passenger pigeons were once the most abundant bird in North America, and quite possibly the world. The naturalist Charles Dury, of Cincinnati, Ohio, wrote in September 1910: "One foggy day in October 1884, at 5 a.m. I watched it for a minute or 2 and then it puffed it's breast up and it shimmered purplish red with tawny orange undertones. Was the bird in the company of other birds or animals? 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