NORTH CAROLINA

(Compiled by Joel Greenberg)

The early historical record makes it clear that the bird often roosted and migrated through the state in abundance. One early date of spring arrival is April 18 at Raleigh.

Last Records of the Passenger Pigeon:
An observation in pine woods near Raleigh on April 18, 1891 and a specimen taken in Buncombe County on October 20, 1894 provide the last occasions the bird is known to have occupied North Carolina.

Places Likely Named for Passenger Pigeon:
There are at least 12 places in North Carolina with pigeon in the name:

Pigeon Township in Haywood County.

There are two Pigeon Gaps (gap) in Haywood County.

Pigeonroost (populated place) in Mitchell County.

Pigeonroost Creek (stream) in Mitchell County, Warren County, Wautoga County,

Pigeon Bay (swamp) in Robeson County .

Pigeon Mountain (rise) in Rutherford County.

There are two Pigeon Creeks (stream) in Swain County.

Pigeon Branch (stream) in Transylvania County.

Pigeon House Branch (stream) may well not be named for passenger pigeons.

North Carolina Highlights
Town Creek Indian Mound in Mt. Giliad has yielded 63 passenger pigeon bone fragments representing a minimum of 7 individuals. This site dates back to the Late Woodland Period (1000-1400 AD) and was occupied by people of the Pee Dee Culture. It is a North Carolina Historic Site and opened to the public. It is here that the first formal excavations were organized and launched by North Carolina archaeologists.

“[W]e went to shoot pigeons which were so numerous in these parts that you might see many millions in a flock; they sometimes split off the limbs of stout oaks and other trees upon which they roost of nights. . . You must understand that these birds do not breed amongst us but come down (especially in hard winters) amongst the inhabitants in great flocks.” John Lawson writing about the early 1700s near Sapona, Davidson County.

“Dr. K.P. Battle of Raleigh,, a careful observer of birds, states that when at Bingham School between 1871 and 1872 he saw a flock about a mile in width.” T. Gilbert Pearson, Birds of North Carolina, 1919.

North Carolina Locations Known to Have Passenger Pigeon Skins, Mounts, and or Skeletons

Raleigh: *North Carolina State 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 of 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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