ALBERTA

(Compiled by Robert Russell and Joel Greenberg)

Formerly a visitor to the eastern portion of the province. The most westerly occurrence was on the McLeod River west of Edmonton (W.R. Salt and J.R. Salt, The Birds of Alberta with their ranges in Saskatchewan & Manitoba, 1976). No breeding evidence known. Schorger (The Passenger Pigeon: Its Natural History and Extinction, 1955) suggested that the species entered Alberta along valley of North Saskatchewan. No specimens are currently known to be in any collection within the provinc

Last Records of the Passenger Pigeon:
Given the paucity of specific records, difficult to define as “last”

Places Likely Named for Passenger Pigeon:
Pigeon Lake near Westerose, Alberta is, by local tradition, named for the passenger pigeon which supposedly was once common here. No evidence in the literature seems to corroborate this rumor but likely rests on some evidence. The name first appeared in 1858; formerly the lake was known by the Cree word for woodpecker “Hmi-hmoo.”

Alberta Highlights:
Material evidence of the occurrence of this species in Alberta was obtained in 1966 and 1967 when bones of at least two individuals were recovered during an archeological investigation of the Fort George site southeast of Elk Point (Salt and Salt, Ibid).

W.W. Cooke, writing in The Auk (Vol 29, 1912) noted that its occurrence in Alberta is contained in a little known book entitled “Saskatchewan and the Rocky Mountains.” Cooke notes that in 1859 the party went westward from Edmonton, Alberta, and August 22, when near the Lobstick River, “we also saw a good many pigeons, one of which I shot with my rifle. They were plump, compact little birds, and made delicious eating. The next day, when a few miles further west, two were shot.”

Alberta Locations known to have Passenger Pigeon Skins, Mounts, and or Skeletons:
Banff: Buffalo Nations Luxton Museum

* If an asterisk appears, at least one passenger pigeon is known to be on display; this list is mainly based on Hahn's Where is That Vanished Bird (1963). Please let us know any changes including additional locations and or birds on display; name changes of institution; if birds are no longer present; etc).

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