This is the largest North American Pigeon. In our area it prefers mature woodland for nesting. It increased in Central California in the last 50 years possibly in response to reductions in hunting, but recent studies have found an average annual decline of about 2%. The current bag limit is two birds with a nine-day December season in our area. HBW splits this species into Northern Band-tailed Pigeon (P. fasciata) of North America and Mexico; and Southern Band-tailed Pigeon (P. albilinea) of Middle and South America, using the Tobias scoring system. Southern populations have an all yellow bill lacking the dark tip seen here. There are also vocal differences. This split has not been accepted by SACC who follow a more traditional biological species concept, nor by other recent authorities. Geographic variation is unsettled. BNA, IOC and H&M4 recognize the larger more richly colored P. f. monilis breeding on the West Coast, but Clement/eBird synonomize it with nominate. Canon PowerShot P510.
References:
Baptista, L.F., Trail, P.W., Horblit, H.M., Kirwan, G.M. & Boesman, P. (2017). Northern Band-tailed Pigeon (Patagioenas fasciata). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from http://www.hbw.com/node/54132 on 18 April 2017).
Boesman, P. (2015). Voice comparison of the Southern and Northern Band-tailed Pigeons. HBW Alive Ornithological Note 41. In: Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from http://www.hbw.com/node/909144 on 18 April 2017).
Gibson, D. D. and B. Kessel. 1997. Inventory of the species and subspecies of Alaska birds. West. Birds no. 28:45-95.
Keppie, Daniel M. and Clait E. Braun. (2000). Band-tailed Pigeon (Patagioenas fasciata), The Birds of North America (P. G. Rodewald, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Retrieved from the Birds of North America: https://birdsna.org/Species-Account/bna/species/batpig1