Animalia All you want to know about animals

Rock Dove

Rock pigeon, Blue rock dove

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Aves

Order

Columbiformes

Family

Columbidae

Genus

Columba

SPECIES

Columba livia

Population size

260 Mln

Life Span

6-35 yrs

TOP SPEED

100 km/h

WEIGHT

238-380 g

LENGTH

29-37 cm

WINGSPAN

62-72 cm

The wild ancestor of the domestic pigeon found the world over, the Rock dove was originally domesticated as a food source. Feral pigeons are all shades of color: some bluer, some blacker, some pale gray with darker chequered markings, some an unusual shade of cinnamon-brown or dull brick-red, some more or less white, and others looking exactly like rock doves in the wild. In urban areas where numbers increase unchecked, they can become pests.

Diurnal

Granivore

Terrestrial

Arboreal

Altricial

Sedentary

Monogamy

Social

Flocking

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Photos with Rock Dove

Distribution

These birds are native to North Africa, Europe and southwest Asia. Feral doves occur worldwide, including throughout North America. A wild Rock dove nests in a crevice on a rocky seaside cliff, close to open shrub vegetation or agriculture. Feral doves inhabit old farm buildings within rural areas. In the cities, skyscrapers tend to be a substitute for their natural cliff surroundings.

Geography

Continents

Asia, Europe, Africa, Oceania, North America, South America

Subcontinents

South Asia, North Africa, Western Asia, Southeast Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, East Asia, Central Asia, Caribbean Islands, Central America

Countries

Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cape Verde, Chad, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Egypt, Estonia, Ethiopia, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Libya, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sudan, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Uzbekistan, Western Sahara, Yemen, Eritrea, Marshall Islands, Afghanistan

Introduced Countries

Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Comoros, DR Congo, Costa Rica, Cote d'Ivoire, Cuba, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Fiji, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Honduras, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Kiribati, North Korea, South Korea, Kuwait, Laos, Lesotho, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Sao Tomé and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Singapore, Somalia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Swaziland, Taiwan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Biome

Temperate broadleaf and mixed forest

Temperate grasslands

Desert and Xeric Shrublands

Urban wildlife

Climate zones

Arid

Temperate

Cold

Habits and Lifestyle

Rock doves peck food off the ground and drink with their bill directly in water, to use it like a straw. A dove may bow and coo when threatening a rival, inflating its throat and walking around in a circle. These birds feed early in the morning and during the mid-afternoon, individually or in flocks. They roost together on walls or statues or in buildings. They flock while feeding, roosting, or sunning. Rock doves generally run or walk while bobbing their heads backward and forward. Their flight is a direct and steady path. This species is most often seen during the daylight - especially perched on buildings or in urban parks. They seek cover during the day when it is hot, and at night. When disturbed in a group, a rock dove takes off with a noisy sound like clapping. Doves, especially carrier or homing breeds, can find their way home over long distances. Despite this ability, a wild Rock dove is sedentary and rarely leaves its local area.

Group name

dole, dule, flight

Lifestyle

Terrestrial, Arboreal, Altricial, Sedentary

Diet and Nutrition

Rock doves are mainly granivorous. In cities, the diet of feral pigeons includes bread, popcorn, cake, peanuts, and currants.

Diet Granivore

Mating Habits

MATING BEHAVIOR

Monogamy

REPRODUCTION SEASON

Year-round

INCUBATION PERIOD

16-19 days

INDEPENDENT AGE

4 weeks

FEMALE NAME

hen

MALE NAME

cock

BABY NAME

squab, squeaker

BABY CARRYING

2 eggs

Rock doves are monogamous and pairs mate for life. Pairs may form any time during the year. Males and females work cooperatively for most aspects of parenting. The male supplies the nesting material and the female constructs the nest, being a platform of grass and twigs. Nest sites are used again and again, with nesting material added for each subsequent brood. In suburban and urban areas, doves will nest on a range of flat covered surfaces, such as ledges and beams on buildings and bridges. In natural areas, they use sheltered cliff-ledges. One pair may produce 5 or more broods per year. 2 eggs are laid, incubated by both parents for 16-19 days, both parents also feeding 'pigeon milk to their young, a fat and protein-rich liquid that they produce in their crops. The chicks leave the nest at around 4 weeks of age.

Population Trend

Decreasing

POPULATION STATUS

Least concern (LC)

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Population

Population threats

Numbers of Rock doves are suspected to be decreasing, due to interbreeding with domestic birds; in Israel declines have been recorded. Rock doves are eaten by humans and are used for laboratory research.

Population number

According to the IUCN Red List, the global Rock dove population size is around 260 million individuals. According to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) resource, the total breeding population of the species in the UK is 550,000 pairs. The population in China is estimated at fewer than 100 breeding pairs, which have possibly been introduced. Overall, currently Rock doves are classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List, but their numbers today are decreasing.

Domestication

For several thousand years, Rock doves have been domesticated, being the forerunner of the domestic pigeon. Aside from use as food and pets, the domesticated birds can be used as homing pigeons. In the past they also had a role as carrier pigeons, and certain “war pigeons” have had significant roles during wartime, many pigeons having received medals and bravery awards for their services in the saving of hundreds of human lives.

Fun Facts for Kids

In the early 1600s, Rock doves were introduced to North America.
Domestic Rock doves, as homing pigeons, can find their way back home, even if the release location is distant and they are blindfolded. They navigate by means of the earth’s magnetic fields and the sun’s position, and perhaps also by using smell and sound.
City buildings and window ledges are roosting places for Rock doves, being similar to the rocky cliffs used in the wild.
The U.S. Army Signal Corps used Rock doves to carry messages during World Wars I and II, thus saving lives and conveying vital strategic information.
The plumage of Rock doves is many different shades and patterns. The common ones include the typical “blue-bar” (bluish-gray with double black bands on their wing and a tail with a black tip); a “red bar” (similar in markings but with rusty red instead of bluish-gray); “checker” (with spots on their wings); “spread” (all gray or all black); “pied” (any color but splotched with white); and those that are mostly red or white.

References

1. Rock Dove Wikipedia article - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_dove

2. Rock Dove on The IUCN Red List site - http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/22690066/0