The
passenger pigeon or
wild pigeon (
Ectopistes migratorius) is an extinct species of
pigeon that was endemic to
North America. Its common name is derived from the French word
passager, meaning "passing by", due to the migratory habits of the species. The scientific name also refers to this feature. The physically similar
mourning dove (
Zenaida macroura) was long thought to be its closest relative, and the two were at times confused, but genetic analysis has shown that the genus
Patagioenas is more closely related to it than the
Zenaida doves.