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About us
The Pigeoncote cares for lost and injured pigeon, and is a non culling pigeon refuge,
located in Olympia, WA USA. We have been in continuous service since 1993.

The Wood Pigeon in Britain:by M.K. Colquhoun

Book coverThis report undertaken by the British Trust for Ornithology was instigated during the second world war when there was considerable concern about the amount of crop damage caused by Wood Pigeons. This is probably the most intensive study to that date covering the same topic as dovecote pigeons had a century or so before. While it appears that Wood Pigeons do forage on grain crops seeds that are not covered by soil immediately after they are sown, they do not damage the growing crops and are actually beneficial during May and June when weed seeds are taken reducing competition for the newly emerging crop.
$28 pb 1951 good some spine cover damage.

Whitewings by Cottam and Trefethen, Editors

Book cover, The white-winged dove is an extremely important game bird in the Southwest. It is hunted on a large in the southwestern states, particularly Texas and Arizona. Habitat, food, problems of management, and the measures needed to preserve the species are fully covered. There are more than eighty illustrations, including line drawings, photos, and two color paintings. The book also covers much other ground, such as hunting regulations and a rigorous analysis of the economic importance of the bird to the Southwest. It asserts the importance of preserva¬tion of a species to us all. This is a book written for the layman and the professional, the sportsman and the biologist.
$35 1968 1st hb 348pp mint but with some minor taning due to age, dust jacket good.

Golden Bats and Pink PigeonsGerald Durrell

Book cover, click for larger image in new window. This is a mint hardback in spite of being published in 1977. The jacket did not fair so well and is rather poor. The Pink Pigeon can be found on the island of Mauritius the former home of the now extinct Dodo. It too, as so many birds, is in peril. Durrell describes in a very readable style the adventures and conditions he found for the Pink Pigeon and of course the Golden Bat as well.
$9

Pigeons and Doves of Australia H. J. Frith

Book cover, The book provides the results of eighteen years of study, and original field work. It assembles all current knowledge about pigeons in Australia and represents a landmark in pigeon biology. The bulk of the book is devoted to individual accounts of Australia's twenty-two native, and three introduced, species. These comprehensive accounts embrace all areas of knowledge, from nomenclature and history to distribution, feeding, breeding, and nesting informa¬tion, calls described for the first time, and a conservation-orientated understanding of present status. The implicit ecological message carries a warning for the future: since European settlement many species of pigeon in mainland Australia have declined, largely because of destruction of their habitat; protective measures must be taken if some species are to survive. The illustrations cover all plumages of Australian pigeons and doves in color. The black-and-white photographs shows important habitats and the general activities and behavior of all twenty-five species. In addition there are line drawings of the important display postures of many species; distribution maps show the areas where each species occurs; and sonograms, diagrams representing the sounds made by a number of species.
$61 1982 mint hb 304pp.
Book cover,

Pigeons and Doves of the World Derek Goodwin

Book cover,There are only a few areas of the world, from the tropics to the cold temperate regions that are not inhabited by some kind of pigeon or dove. Omithologically speaking, there is no distinction between the two, andm most authorities place all the pigeons and doves together in the family Columbidae. These include such different birds as the strikingly patterned Snow Pigeon, the city-dwelling Feral Pigeon, the wandering Nicobar Pigeon, and the somber little Black-Winged Dove.

A wealth of information on recently extinct species of pigeons and doves is included. Goodwin first treats the family's nomenclature, adaptive radiation, coloration of plumage, and plumage sequences. He then gives an account of many aspects of behavior such as feeding habits, voice and other sound signals, display, pair formation, nesting and parental care, and escape. After enumerating the general characteristics of the group, he offers full descriptions of the species, with a synopsis of the behavior and biology of each. Nearly all of the species descriptions are accompanied by a scrupulously accurate line drawing and a distribution map. While there are only three color plates, in comparison to Gibbs’ 76, they are beautiful indeed.
$53 1967 1st hb 446pp near mint, but jacket is tattered
$32 1970 very good ex-library.

Doves Michael W. Gos

Book cover,Both of these guides are intended for the novice and are designed to provide the information needed to successfully choose a specific type and how to house, feed and care for them once you get them home. They are nearly identical, except for condition and a few pictures and ccover. A good inexpensive first pick to get one started.
$6 1981 hb reading copy.
Book cover,
$9 1981 hb very good.

 

 

Band-Tailed Pigeon: Wilderness Bird at Risk:Worth Mathewson

book coverBook cover,Mathewson has hunted coastal range of Oregon for his favorite prey, the band-tailed pigeon, and not just with a camera.  While his report it about that, but only in a peripheral way, what makes this work so interesting and worthwhile for the lover of birds is his understanding and telling not only of the pigeon, but also of the bureaucracy that is charged with its protection.  An expose of sorts.   Some attribute the bird's decline to habitat loss, but Mathewson, in this complete natural history, carefully builds his case to the something much more sinister. Him-Us. The press took note of an avid hunter blaming overhunting and bad management for the devastation of a species.  The persistently callous attitude toward the band-tailed pigeon may keep it in a downward spiral.   This book is nicely complemented with drawings by noted wildlife artist David Hagerbaumer, color photographs by the author and Margaret Thompson Mathewson, and an extensive bibliography.   In short it is a well told story of a wild bird with a troubled past, and a fervent call to action. But, while chronicling his experience, he tells a delightful tale about this western wilderness pigeon in its western milieu complete with the often gray, and always aromatic feel of a Pacific Northwest.
  Not available

Gone Forever Susan Dudley Morrison

Book cover, click for larger image in new window.This is the mint hardback edition of 1989. While aimed at young adults as all of the gone forever series, it provides a solid base and account of this pigeon's demise.
$12 #1Mint hardback

Life of the Pigeon Alexander F. Skutch, Dana Gardner (Illustrator):   Published by Comstock Pub Assoc

book cover jacketbook cover Alexander Skutch delivers and informative, yet engaging and entertaining, account of the pigeons and doves with whom he has become acquainted. Dana Gardner's colorful illustrations enhance the text directly and stand well on their own as well. Ornithologists, amateur bird-watchers,

Alexander weaves together a store of information, ranging all over the world in his descriptions and interspersing anecdotes and tales about the species he has become familiar with. We learn what pigeons eat and how they drink, how they vocalize, and how they court, build their nests, incubate their eggs, and raise their young.

We also learn of the ambivalent relations between pigeons and humans, including the training and performance of homing pigeons in peace and in war. A chapter on bird migration reports on the controversial results of experimental studies to determine how birds find their way over vast expanses of land and water. The final chapter provides a look at the strange races of domesticated pigeons that Charles Darwin raised as part of his preparation for writing The Origin of Species.

Dana Gardner's provides us with 29 black-and-white drawings and 24 full-page watercolors, some of which show the gorgeous fruit doves and crowned pigeons of the Orient.

  $29 Mint hardback and dust jacket.  Publication date: May 1991.

Migratory Shore andUpland Game BirdTacha and Braun

Book cover, click for larger image in new window.This is a mint hardback published in 1994. This book deserves to be in every library if just for the extensive bibliography found at the end of each chapter. Naturally, being found here the book covers many dove species, including the Morning Dove, the White-winged Dove, the White-tipped Dove, the Band-tailed Pigeon, as well as many other bird species.
$23

Ecology of Band-tailed Pigeons in Oregon:by US Dept. of Int.

Book cover,This is as one would expect. A scholarly piece of work on a wild pigeon that "migrates" between predominantly three states. Lots of data, but I would draw my own conclusions on most points from the data rather than the text. This work followed with Mathewson's book Band-Tailed Pigeon to round out the picture will provide a very good understanding of the rather fragile state of this bright yellow footed bird.
$20 pb mint 1992.

Habits, Food, and Economic Status of the Band-Tailed PigeonUS Dept. of Int.

Book cover,This 76 page pamphlet was published by the United States Department of the Interior in 1947 as part of its series of North American Fauna. It is in very good condition and was part of the collection of the Fairbanks Museum of Vermont. The museum's imprint is on the cover and a note that it is about bird species on the top left corner. This was undoubtedly entered to more quickly alert the user that this guide’s deals with birds not badgers as the cover picture might lead one to believe. I can only suppose that the cover picture of a badger was selected as a subtle way to alert us that unless we were careful, the band-tailed pigeon might well disappear as North America's other once native species the passenger pigeon. The status of the band-tailed pigeon has certainly waxed and waned over the years and this scientific work intended for the average enthusiast provides a wealth of information on its then current status, but also the environment that it needs to thrive.
$18 pb 1947 very good condition, see description above.
$15 pb 1947 very good owner's signature on cover see larger cover scan.

Mourning Dove: by Wildlife Management Institure

Book cover,Ecology and Management of the Mourning Dove provides in-depth in­formation on the biology, life history, population characteristics, behavior, and research on the species. It is an invaluable reference tool to biologists, sportsmen and women, bird watch­ers, and others interested in pigeons and doves.  It is complemented with nearly 400 photos, tables and figures which provide breath to the text. The reference section is incredibly complete and the thorough indexing makes it rather simple to located any particular feature. The book will  assist all mourning dove enthusiast to better understand this charming North American dove by presenting, in readable style, a thorough examination of Mourning Dove ecology. Twenty-nine chapters in four sections cover such topics as classification and distribution; migration; nesting; reproductive strategy; growth and maturation; feeding habits; diseases; survey procedures; population trends; care of captive mourning doves; and hunting. Each topic is handled by leading experts in the wildlife field, who share the results of decades of research on the mourning dove.
$58 hb mint hb with mint jacket 567pp 1st 1993

Wildlife Monographs #64; White-Crowned Pigeon: by James and Beth Wiley

Book cover,The monograph cover the White-Cronwed pigeon in great deal, including habitat, language, breeding behavior, life cycle, feeding and predation. The study area is Puerto Rico. There are many photographs of this most interesting pigeon and its young in their natural setting.
$17 pb 1979 mint copy.
$12 pb 1979 very good previous owner stamp on cover as shown in cover image.