In Jamaica one of the most popular birds for sportsmen is the white crowned pigeon. This attractive arboreal pigeon ranges through the Greater Antilles and into Southern Florida and parts of the Bahamas. We frequently host them in trees around our house, and I can watch them flying into and out of the bush from the balcony. I have wanted to travel to South central Cuba to experience hunting for these birds, and started organizing a trip several years ago. Logistics and political climate killed that trip, but I will do it sooner or later.
The illustration is by John James Audubon, painted during his trip to the Florida keys in 1857 I think. The birds are now scarce in the Florida keys, but regionally abundant in the Greater Antilles.
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