Passenger Pigeon - Taxonomy and Systematics

Taxonomy and Systematics

The Passenger Pigeon is a member of the Columbidae family (pigeons and doves) assigned to the genus Ectopistes. Earlier descriptions of the species placed it within the genus Columba, but it was transferred to a monotypic genus due to the greater length of the tail and wings. The fossil record of the bird stretches back to the Pleistocene.

The Passenger Pigeon's closest living relative were thought to be the Zenaida doves based on morphological grounds. The mourning dove was even suggested to belong to the genus Ectopistes, as E. carolinensis. However, recent genetic data show it was closer to the American Patagioenas pigeons . Rather than belonging (like Zenaida) to the American dove clade around Leptotila, the DNA sequence data show Ectopistes to be part of a radiation that includes the "typical" Old World pigeons (e.g., Domestic Pigeon Columba livia) and the Eurasian turtledoves (Streptopelia) and Patagioenas, as well as the cuckoo-doves and relatives of the Wallacea region and its surroundings. The Passenger Pigeon was able to hybridise with the Eurasian Collared Dove (Streptopelia decaocto) in captivity, but the offspring was infertile.