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The Flight & Plight Of The Passenger Pigeon When I first began to write this article I had no idea the immense devastation that was bestowed upon the Passenger Pigeon. To give a brief historical account of what once filled the North American skies but has long since become extinct. I found the passenger Pigeons demise was only in the span of 100 years, a brief time for specie to become totally extinct. It is considered the only species where an exact date is known for its extinction. What amazed me even more was this was happening as this specie was being studied. Those who spent relentless hours documenting and portraying the passenger pigeon through writings and drawings were those who never felt the pigeon was in any danger. Yet, they would often wonder how any specie could withstand what was being done not only to its habitat but also to the specie itself. As people watched the persecution of the passenger pigeon and its offspring, preservation through concerted efforts was ridiculed and never taken seriously. Many would approach their state legislation concerned of the diminished numbers that once filled the skies in the migratory flights, only to be reassured that nothing could endanger the abundant population. It is understandable that a desirable solution should have been sought, but one must remember in reading of all accounts of the passenger pigeon that little was known of its social behavior, mating and migration habits. At this time the only social group that had any real insight were the Native American Indians and those that documented the flight of the pigeons. Some will say that the methods of the Native Americans for securing a harvest of pigeons by simple means of netting and trapping will be altered to enable and afford the hunter vast numbers decreasing a flock in just one hunting event, but as time goes on conventional methods of hunting will give way to methods of unspeakable mention. The Passenger Pigeon was similar to but larger than the Mourning Dove. In visual comparison you will see the passenger pigeon is longer in body. It can also be referred to as Wild Pigeon, Wood Pigeon, Red-breasted Pigeon, and Blue-headed Pigeon. It had a slate blue head and rump, slate gray back, and a wine red breast. A short, slender black bill. The colors of the male were brighter than those of the female. It had a exceptional long tail, with 12 tail feathers tapering to a point. It is estimated that they could travel at almost 60 miles per hour. A reference to the noise a flock of pigeons made was compared to the sound of the great Niagara Falls, or the deafening sound of a locomotive. Some will remark that it was "made for Flight". Audubon did some of the most remarkable paintings and drawings portraying the pigeon as he studied and followed the pigeon. Along with his paintings and those of others , today you will only be able to see a few stuffed exhibits of the passenger pigeon today. The eye was deep red scarlet. You will notice many painters focus in on this unique trait. There was no black spot on the side of the neck as is found in the Mourning Dove. When the flock arrived at a nesting site, the first day or
two was spent in pairing. A male displayed with a
circular nodding movement of the head and tried to
hook its neck over a female's neck. If the female
was receptive, the pair began to build a nest of
sticks on which the female laid one white egg. This will account for the inability to repopulate as destructions is sweeping down upon the pigeon population.
Both male and female shared in incubating the egg
13 days and feeding the young 15-17 days. For
the first week the squabs were fed only pigeon's
milk, produced in the crops of both parents. The
young grew very fast, fledged in 14 days, and
became independent a few days later. The adults
fed on the ground and in trees or shrubs on
beechnuts, acorns, seeds, berries, and
invertebrates. In the roosting hours one could hear the uttering of a soft "coo".
Nesting would become the most vulnerable time for the pigeons. Their social behavior and nurturing of their young would be their greatest weakness. The pigeons in flight would become a sporting target and the nesting time would become a social event resulting in an economic resource. 
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