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The rock dove, rock pigeon, or common pigeon (/ ˈ p ɪ dʒ. ə n / also / ˈ p ɪ dʒ. ɪ n /; Columba livia) is a member of the bird family Columbidae (doves and pigeons). [3]: 624 In common usage, it is often simply referred to as the "pigeon", although this is the wild form of the bird; the pigeons most familiar to people are the domesticated form of the wild rock dove.
In Europe, the wood pigeon is commonly shot as a game bird, [100] while rock pigeons were originally domesticated as a food species, and many breeds were developed for the quality of their meat. [52] The extinction of the passenger pigeon in North America was at least partly due to shooting for use as food. [101]
The white-quilled rock pigeon is a large mid-brown to reddish-brown pigeon.It has wings measuring 122 to 145 mm and a bill 11.0 to 14.5 mm in length. Subspecies albipennis weighs 117 to 156 grams while the smaller subspecies boothi weighs between 103 and 142 grams. [3]
Rock pigeon with checkered plumage at Wells Harbor in Maine Sunday, March 31, 2024. For example, just this weekend brilliant yellow male goldfinches showed up at my feeders.
The rock dove (C. livia) has given rise to the majority of domesticated pigeon breeds, such as the racing pigeon and the fantail pigeon, some of which have become feral. Meanwhile, "wood pigeon" by itself usually means the common wood pigeon (C. palumbus).
The domestic pigeon (Columba livia domestica or Columba livia forma domestica) [2] is a pigeon subspecies that was derived from the rock dove or rock pigeon. The rock pigeon is the world's oldest domesticated bird. Mesopotamian cuneiform tablets mention the domestication of pigeons more than 5,000 years ago, as do Egyptian hieroglyphics.
Rock, domestic, and feral pigeons are all the same species and will readily interbreed. Feral pigeons find the ledges of buildings to be a substitute for sea cliffs, have become adapted to urban life, and are abundant in towns and cities throughout much of the world.
The International Ornithological Committee (IOC) recognizes 352 species in family Columbidae, the pigeons and doves.They are distributed among 50 genera. This list is presented according to the IOC taxonomic sequence and can also be sorted alphabetically by common name and binomial.