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Pigeons and doves (1 Viewer)

colonelboris

Right way up again
It's probably been asked before, but what is the difference between a pigeon and a dove?
Is it a scientific difference or an aesthetic one?
 
Pigeon and dove are synonomous. Pigeon is traditionally used for larger species, dove for smaller but exceptions are numerous. There was a proposal to rename Rock and Stock Doves as Rock and Stock Pigeons. Needless to say, didn't catch on.
 
Ah, that sounds familiar.
There's a whole lot of twaddle on the internet about the difference. One chap said it was the same difference as between 'a crow and a raven, if there is one'.
Genius.

I know that an old name for the wood pigeon is 'ring dove', so I guess there are no really hard and fast rules for it then.

Ta!
 
Mike Johnston said:
There was a proposal to rename Rock and Stock Doves as Rock and Stock Pigeons. Needless to say, didn't catch on.

I've already read both Rock Dove and Pigeon in books. Which is the right term for this species? I guess it is Dove.
 
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The AOU recently renamed Rock Dove to Rock Pigeon, so in the US it's a Rock Pigeon for now. Clement's has also used this for the world list.
 
Dave B Smith said:
The AOU recently renamed Rock Dove to Rock Pigeon, so in the US it's a Rock Pigeon for now. Clement's has also used this for the world list.

The scourge of pedantry knows no bounds!

It's funny because (as far as I know), it was from rock doves that feral pigeons were domesticated, which also led to the white dove that everyone else thinks of when you say 'dove'.
 
The British Ornithologists Union has also officially renamed Rock Dove as Rock Pigeon (and also Stock).The feral form is already termed Feral Pigeon so I suppose it makes some sense. It doesn't seem to have caught on, although I'm sure field guides will take it on. Was watching wild Rock Doves just the other day; their mutant urban offspring just don't compare.
 
Mike Johnston said:
The British Ornithologists Union has also officially renamed Rock Dove as Rock Pigeon (and also Stock).The feral form is already termed Feral Pigeon so I suppose it makes some sense. It doesn't seem to have caught on, although I'm sure field guides will take it on. Was watching wild Rock Doves just the other day; their mutant urban offspring just don't compare.

Actually, it isn't too long ago that AOU discussed if they should rename it the Rock Dove to become more consistent with the commonly used name in Europe, but they choose not to, mainly because the name Rock Pigeon was too wellknown among American birders and they feared Rock Dove would confuse! Anyway, it seems Rock Pigeon is the name most commonly used in the Americas (be that South, Central or North), while Rock Dove (regardless if BOU use it or not) seem to be the most widely used by birders in the rest of the World (Europe, Africa & Asia; not quite sure about Australia).
 
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Rasmus Boegh said:
Actually, it isn't too long ago that AOU discussed if they should rename it the Rock Dove to become more consistent with the commonly used name in Europe, but they choose not to, mainly because the name Rock Pigeon was too wellknown among American birders and they feared Rock Dove would confuse! Anyway, it seems Rock Pigeon is name most commonly used in the Americas, while Rock Dove (regardless if BOU use it or not) seem to be the most widely used in the "Old World".

Ah, so it's true. Britain and America are becoming two countries seperated by a common language...
 
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