Pigeons and Doves (Columbidae)
Rock Dove (Columba livia)
French: Pigeon biset German: Felsentaube Spanish: Paloma Bravía
Other common names: Rock Pigeon; feral pigeon (feral form)
Taxonomy:
Columba (domestica) b livia J. F. Gmelin, 1789, southern Europe.
Ancestor of feral pigeon. Closely related to C. rupestris of C Asia and C. leuconota of Himalayas. Race nigricans may refer to feral birds, and thus be invalid. Considerable confusion as to the degree to which several populations are “natural”, and how much they have been affected by mixing with feral birds. Thirteen subspecies recognized.
Subspecies and Distribution:
- livia J. F. Gmelin, 1789 - British Is and W Mediterranean through Dalmatia and N Libya E to Urals, Caucasus and W Siberia.
- atlantis Bannerman, 1931 - Madeira, Azores and Cape Verde Is.
- canariensis Bannerman, 1914 - Canary Is and islands off Morocco.
- livia J. F. Gmelin, 1789 - British Is and W Mediterranean through Dalmatia and N Libya E to Urals, Caucasus and W Siberia.
- atlantis Bannerman, 1931 - Madeira, Azores and Cape Verde Is.
- canariensis Bannerman, 1914 - Canary Is and islands off Morocco.
- gymnocyclus G. R. Gray, 1856 - Mauritania, Mali and Ghana, and coastal Senegambia and Guinea.
- targia Geyr von Schweppenburg, 1916 - C Sahara to C Sudan.
- dakhlae R. Meinertzhagen, 1928 - Dakhla and Kharga Oases.
- butleri R. Meinertzhagen, 1921 - Gebeit, Red Sea Province and Egyptian Sudan.
- schimperi Bonaparte, 1854 - Nile valley to Khartoum; Red Sea hills from E Egypt to N Eritrea.
- palaestinae Zedlitz, 1912 - Palestine, Sinai and Arabia S to Aden and Masqat.
- gaddi Zarudny & Loudon, 1906 - Azerbaijan, Iran, W & N Afghanistan, Turkmeniya, Ustyurt Plateau in Transcaspia and Uzbekistan.
- neglecta Hume, 1873 - Transcaspia and Turkestan S to Iran, Baluchistan, Sind and NW Punjab, and E to Tien Shan and SW Tibet.
- intermedia Strickland, 1844 - India and Sri Lanka.
- nigricans Buturlin, 1908 - Mongolia and N China in Shanxi, Jilin and Gansu.
- Least Concern
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Two adult birds seeking a way into a feeder for smaller birds Vienna, Vienna State, Austria (livia)
Malcolm Mark Swan 30 May 2006 2 years ago 19 sec 4.5 -
Pair, beak wrestling leads to copulation, then overbalancing. San Juan, Puerto Rico
Joe Angseesing 29 December 2006 1 year ago 47 sec 3.7 -
Several wild birds on a coastal cliff Souss Massa National Park, Morocco (livia)
Josep del Hoyo 15 May 2006 3 years ago 38 sec 3.6 -
Several feral birds showing different plumage patterns Durban, KwaZulu Natal Province, South Africa (Feral species)
Josep del Hoyo 13 March 2004 4 years ago 31 sec 3.4 -
Two feral birds on a roof, preening. Finca Argovia, Tapachula, Chiapas State, Mexico (Southern)
Josep del Hoyo 5 April 2009 17 weeks ago 34 sec 3.3 -
Two feral birds preening on a streetlamp Valencia, Valencian Community, Spain
Carlos Fabregat 6 May 2006 1 year ago 46 sec 3.2
-
Side view of a white-plumaged feral bird. Caracas, Distrito Capital, Venezuela (feral ssp)
philgunson 12 July 2008 1 year ago 4 -
Most likely real wild bird Tenerife, Canary Islands (canariensis)
Thorsten Stegmann 22 November 2009 6 weeks ago 3.7 -
Blue Rock Pigeon on the ground The Nilgiris District, Tamil Nadu, India
vasanthan.p.j 11 May 2009 32 weeks ago 3.5 -
Two feral birds on a roof. Finca Argovia, Tapachula, Chiapas State, Mexico (Southern)
Josep del Hoyo 5 April 2009 17 weeks ago 3 -
A bird standing on the ground Columbretes Islands, Castellón, Valencian Community, Spain (livia)
Carlos Fabregat 18 February 2009 50 weeks ago 3 -
A bird standing on the ground Columbretes Islands, Castellón, Valencian Community, Spain (livia)
Carlos Fabregat 18 February 2009 50 weeks ago 3
-
Male calling to female London, England, UK
(domestica)
Stuart Fisher 12 January 2010 3 weeks ago ADDED LAST MONTH 4.7 -
Sounds of a colony under a bridge London, England, UK
(livia (domestica))
Stuart Fisher 28 March 2009 44 weeks ago 4 -
Calls by male and female Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
RAM GOPAL SONI 1 October 2004 12 weeks ago 3
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