CLIPBOARD : BREEDING BIRD: BAND-TAILED PIGEON

(Columbia fasciata) Description: Heavily built, fast-flying birds whose small heads bob when they walk. Males and females have purplish head and breast, black-tipped yellow bill and yellow legs. Broad sweep of gray across wings, back and tail. Juveniles lack white crescent on nape of neck. Length: 15 inches. Habitat: Oak canyons, chaparral and foothills. Diet: Seeds (especially acorns), berries and grains. Squabs are fed crop milk, a protein and fat-enriched secretion from a saclike storage chamber at the bottom of the parent’s esophagus. Both sexes produce crop milk. Displays: In courtship, the male rapidly flaps his wings in flight, alternating with short glides; in tree, male bows to female. Nest: Usually built against the trunk or at the fork of a horizontal branch, the shallow nest is constructed of crossed twigs with little to no cross-weaving. Eggs: White, unmarked. Length: 1.6 inches. Call: Low, owl-like oo-whooo , repeated. Notes: Gregarious, usually seen in flocks of dozens. Breeding bird atlas: To report bird breeding activity in your neighborhood, or to get information on the breeding bird atlas, call Sea and Sage Audubon Society members Sylvia Gallagher, (714) 962-8990, or Nancy Kenyon, (714) 786-3160. Note: Map is divided into 5-kilometer squares so that Audubon Society volunteers can more easily survey areas on a regular basis. Sources: Sea and Sage Audubon Society; “The Birder’s Handbook,” Ehrlich, Dobkin and Wheye, Fireside Books (1988); “Field Guide to the Birds of North America,” National Geographic Society (1987); “Birds of Southern California: Status and Distribution,” Garrett and Dunn, Los Angeles Audubon Society (1981).