Like its near-relative Rock Pigeon, the Band-tailed Pigeon is a hardy, adaptable creature. It's able to live in towns around people, but also quite able to survive in the forests for which it is naturally built. Unlike the Rock Pigeon, the Band-tailed Pigeon is a native species that naturally occurs throughout the Pacific Flyway in a variety of subspecies. Closer to home, we have a resident population in Southern California, but in the spring a number of these birds head north to upper California, Oregon, and Washington to breed. Although there are certainly some who would say that all pigeons look alike, the Band-tailed Pigeon is distinctive for both the white crescent on the back of the neck, and the pail band on its long tail. To get a greater sense of its migratory habits, check out the eBird maps below the fold (photo by Steve Ryan):

As you can see at the end of January, the Band-tailed Pigeons were mostly huddled in California:

Not long after this, we began to see more heading up into Oregon and Washington, until we see this broad distribution today in May: