Nesting of the Band-Tailed Pigeon
Nesting of the Band-tailed Pigeon
On August 11, 1913, while on a fishing trip to Bear Creek, the stream that empties out of Big Bear Lake in the San Bernardino Mountains, I accidentally discovered a nest of the Band-tailed Pigeon (Columba fasciata fasciata) . The bird was flushed from the nest which was found to contain one nearly fresh egg. I waited for some time but the bird did not return to her nest. The nest was situated about ten feet up in a small oak tree, growing among pines on a very rugged mountain side at probably 5,000 feet altitude. The nest was a very flimsy affair, similar to the nest of the Mourning Dove but a trifle larger, and was composed of dry oak twigs. As this date of nesting seemed to me to be unusual I thought it of especial interest. The egg was collected and is now in my possession.
On this trip I only noted two other individuals of this species, one near the mouth of the Santa Ana Canyon and the other at the In-take in the same canyon.
During the summer of 1912 these birds were very common at Glenn Ranch Resort, Lytle Creek Canyon, San Gabriel Mountains, elevation about 3,500 feet. They were most common during August and the early part of September and were found feeding on the elder and coffee berries. This summer the birds were there only in limited numbers, although the feed was apparently more plentiful than in 1912.
WRIGHT M. PIERCE
Claremont, California.
