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The three Western European Columba pigeons, common wood pigeon, stock dove and rock dove, though superficially alike, have very distinctive characteristics; the common wood pigeon may be identified at once by its larger size at 38–44.5 cm (15– 17 + 1 ⁄ 2 in) and weight 300–615 g (10 + 5 ⁄ 8 – 21 + 3 ⁄ 4 oz), and the white on its ...
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.
Columba species are mostly termed "pigeons", and in many cases "wood pigeons", but some (including the type species of the genus), are termed "doves". 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.
Historically, the common names for these birds involve a great deal of variation. The bird most commonly referred to as "pigeon" is the domestic pigeon, descendant of the wild rock dove, which is a common inhabitant of cities as the feral pigeon. Columbidae contains 51 genera divided into 353 species. [4]
The stock dove is common in ideal habitat, but never as abundant as the common wood pigeon, typically forming flocks of a few to a few tens, very rarely hundreds, and not the thousands often found with wood pigeons. In part of its European and western Asiatic range it is a migrant. There has been a sharp decline in France (−57% in 1976).
Several species of wild pigeons and doves are used as food; however, all types are edible. [51] In Europe, the wood pigeon is commonly shot as a game bird, [52] The extinction of the passenger pigeon in North America was at least partly due to shooting for use as food. [53]
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Pigeons and doves are stout-bodied birds with short necks, and short slender bills with a fleshy cere. Rock pigeon, Columba livia (I) Common wood pigeon, Columba palumbus (A) [20] Scaled pigeon, Patagioenas speciosa (A) [21] Scaly-naped pigeon, Patagioenas squamosa (A) White-crowned pigeon, Patagioenas leucocephala; Band-tailed pigeon ...