It mainly inhabited the deciduous forests of eastern North America and was also recorded elsewhere, but bred primarily around the Great Lakes. The juvenile was similar to the female, but without iridescence. The female was 380 to 400 mm (15.0 to 15.7 in), and was duller and browner than the male overall. The male was 390 to 410 mm (15.4 to 16.1 in) in length, mainly gray on the upperparts, lighter on the underparts, with iridescent bronze feathers on the neck, and black spots on the wings. The passenger pigeon was sexually dimorphic in size and coloration. The morphologically similar mourning dove ( Zenaida macroura) was long thought to be its closest relative, and the two were at times confused, but genetic analysis has shown that the genus Patagioenas is more closely related to it than the Zenaida doves. The scientific name also refers to its migratory characteristics.
Its common name is derived from the French word passager, meaning "passing by", due to the migratory habits of the species. The passenger pigeon or wild pigeon ( Ectopistes migratorius) is an extinct species of pigeon that was endemic to North America. Distribution map, with former range in orange and breeding zone in red
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