Band-tailed Pigeon

Description:

The Band-tailed Pigeon (Patagioenas fasciata) is a medium-sized bird of the Americas. Its closest relatives are the Chilean Pigeon and the Ring-tailed Pigeon, which form a clade of Patagioenas with a terminal tail band and iridescent plumage on their necks. 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, P. albilinea. It is found at altitudes from 900 to 3,600 m (3,000 to 12,000 ft), generally in oak, pine-oak, and coniferous forests. It feeds on seeds, notably acorns.