Rock Pigeon
The bird most commonly referred to as 'pigeon', a common inhabitant of cities.
The Rock Pigeon is a bird of the family Columbidae. It is the descendant of the wild rock dove, and is the bird most commonly referred to as "pigeon". It is a common inhabitant of cities as the feral pigeon. These are stout-bodied birds with small heads, relatively short necks and slender bills that feature fleshy ceres. They feed largely on plant matter, feeding on seeds (granivory), fruit (frugivory), and foliage (folivory).
- Scientific Name:
- Columba livia
- Family:
- Columbidae
- Conservation Status:
- Least Concern
Lore & Background
The Rock Pigeon is the descendant of the wild rock dove. Historically, the common names for these birds involve a great deal of variation. The family Columbidae contains 52 genera divided into 353 species. The family occurs worldwide, often in close proximity to humans, but the greatest diversity is in the Indomalayan and Australasian realms. 118 species (34%) are at risk, and 13 are extinct, with the most famous examples being the dodo, a large, flightless, island bird, and the passenger pigeon, that once flocked in the billions.
In Their Own Story
Pigeon is a French word that derives from the Latin pīpiō, for a 'peeping' chick, while dove, shared with Old Norse dūfa and Gothic dubo, is from a Proto-Germanic word imitative of the cooing calls of woodpigeon and stock dove. The English dialectal word culver appears to derive from Latin columba. A group of doves has sometimes been called a "dule", taken from the French word deuil ('mourning').
Reader's Guide
The Rock Pigeon is a stout-bodied bird with a small head, relatively short neck, and a slender bill with a fleshy cere. Like some other birds, the Columbidae have no gall bladders. The wings of most species are large, and have eleven primary feathers; pigeons have strong wing muscles (wing muscles comprise 31–44% of their body weight) and are among the strongest fliers of all birds. In a series of experiments in 1975 by Dr. Mark B. Friedman, using doves, their characteristic head bobbing was shown to be due to their natural desire to keep their vision constant.
Did You Know?
- The Rock Pigeon is the bird most commonly referred to as 'pigeon', and is a descendant of the wild rock dove.
- Pigeons have strong wing muscles that comprise 31–44% of their body weight, making them among the strongest fliers of all birds.
- The characteristic head bobbing of doves was shown in a 1975 experiment by Dr. Mark B. Friedman to be due to their natural desire to keep their vision constant.
- The word 'pigeon' derives from the Latin pīpiō, for a 'peeping' chick.
- A group of doves has sometimes been called a 'dule', taken from the French word deuil ('mourning').
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