Alternative names: Common Pigeon; Rock Dove
- Columba livia
Identification
32–37 cm. White lower back, two black bars on pale grey wings, tail is margined with white, lighter grey rump. The head and neck of the mature bird are a darker blue-grey than the back and wings; the lower back is white. The green and lilac or purple patch on the side of the neck is larger than that of the Stock Dove, and the tail is more distinctly banded. These birds come in many different colours, dark grey, light blue/grey, brown, peach, grey and white, pure white and more. Young birds show little lustre and are duller. Eye colour of the pigeon is generally an orange colour but a few pigeons may have white-grey eyes. The eyelids are orange in colour and are encapsulated in a grey-white eye ring. The feet are red to pink.
Distribution
Southern Europe, North Africa, and into South Asia.
Rock Pigeons have been domesticated for several thousand years; escapees have resulted in feral populations in cities world-wide.
Taxonomy
Columba livia has 13 subspecies:[1]
- C. l. livia
- Western Palearctic
- C. l. atlantis
- Madeira, Azores and Cape Verde Islands
- C. l. canariensis
- Canary Islands and islands off Morocco
- C. l. gymnocycla
- Mauritania, Mali and Ghana; coastal Senegambia and Guinea
- C. l. targia
- Central Sahara to central Sudan
- C. l. dakhlae
- Egypt (Dakhla and Kharga oases)
- C. l. butleri
- Red Sea Province and Egyptian Sudan
- C. l. schimperi
- Nile Valley to Khartoum; Red Sea Hills of eastern Egypt to northern Eritrea
- C. l. palaestinae
- Palestine, Sinai and Arabia to Aden and Oman
- C. l. gaddi
- Iran to Azerbaijan, Transcaspia, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan
- C. l. neglecta
- Mountains of central Asia
- C. l. intermedia
- Peninsular India and Sri Lanka
- C. l. nigricans
- Mongolia and northern China (Shanxi, Jilin and Gansu)
Habitat
Natural cliffs, usually on coasts. Feral populations are found in cities and towns.
Behaviour
The nest is usually on a ledge in a cave; it is a slight structure of grass, heather, or seaweed. Like most pigeons it lays 2 white eggs. The eggs are incubated by both parents for about 18 days.
Vocalisation
<flashmp3>Columba livia (song).mp3</flashmp3>
Listen in an external program
References
- Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Rock Pigeon. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 25 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Rock_Pigeon
