Four years ago I wrote about my determination to find a band-tailed pigeon in the wild, and until very recently I was still, sadly, failing in that endeavor. But then this month my luck suddenly changed when I had two, or possibly even three, encounters. And they demanded hardly any effort at all, just casual observations from the comfort of my Prescott home's deck.
In very early September, just beyond my front yard, I noticed a flock of doves take off together from a tall ponderosa pine and quickly fly away. The birds appeared much larger than mourning doves, and I could see that their outspread tail feathers were broader than the pointy ones of doves. But I wasn't sure about the namesake dark band stretching across their tails, which is why it always helps to catch a photograph of my subjects.
I was luckier in my next encounter a few days later when I witnessed an especially large dove perched high in a pine tree in my front yard. The bird gave me just enough time to grab my camera from the house and to snap a single picture. The photo didn't show a white crescent on the dove's nape, however it did reveal some scalloping in its neck feathers. And the bird demonstrated two characteristics of a band-tailed pigeon: a black-tipped yellow bill and black wingtips. The lack of that white stripe only meant my specimen was immature.
Almost two weeks later I spied another large dove high in my neighbor's ponderosa pine. The bird remained mostly still over the course of a half hour, lingering quietly in shadows. It rotated a quarter turn every few minutes, revealing all the definitive characteristics of an adult band-tailed pigeon. Besides the white crescent on its nape, scalloping neck feathers, the black-tipped yellow beak, and black wingtips, I also saw for the first time the bird's yellow legs and feet.
Arizona Game and Fish states that band-tailed pigeons migrate to Arizona starting in late March where they nest in pine forests between 4,500 and 9,100 feet in elevation. The birds migrate out of the state by mid-October. It's possible the individuals I encountered had bred or were born in the vast woods surrounding my Prescott property. But since my eyes have been peeled for these birds all summer, I might have to assume they were just passing through.
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| Immature band-tailed pigeon near my Prescott home. |
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| Adult band-tailed pigeon near my Prescott home. |
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| Adult band-tailed pigeon near my Prescott home. |
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