Pigeon Topics

• doves and pigeons
• pigeons and doves
• tiny distributions
• northern somalia
• south east asia
• family columbidae
• northern argentina
• ground dove
• natural distribution
• kadavu
• tiny area
• arnhem land
• caroline islands
• pohnpei
• australia and new zealand
• japan australia
• domestication
• cities around the world
• two islands
• plumage

Related Images

Source

Pigeon, Pigeon

Looking for Columbidae?

In ornithological practice, there is a tendency for "dove" to be used for smaller species and "pigeon" for larger ones, but this is in no way consistently applied, and historically the common names for these birds involve a great deal of variation between the term "dove" and "pigeon." This family occurs worldwide, but the greatest variety is in the Indomalaya and Australasia ecozones. The young doves and pigeons are called "squabs." Pigeons and doves are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills with a fleshy cere.

Granivorous species tend to have dull plumage, with a few exceptions, whereas the frugivorous species have brightly coloured plumage. Baptista, L. F.; Trail, P. W. & Horblit, H. M. (1997): Family Columbidae (Doves and Pigeons).

Pigeons and doves may be sexually monochromatic or dichromatic. In addition to bright colours pigeons may sport crests or other ornamentation.

The Whistling Dove is endemic to the tiny island of Kadavu in Fiji, the Caroline Ground-dove is restricted to two islands, Truk and Pohnpei in the Caroline Islands and the Grenada Dove is restricted to Grenada in the Caribbean. Some continental species also have tiny distributions; for example the Black-banded Fruit-dove is restricted to a small area of the Arnhem Land of Australia, the Somali Pigeon is restricted to a tiny area of northern Somalia, and Bare-eyed Ground-dove is restricted to the area around Salta and Tucuman in northern Argentina.

The species had a large natural distribution from Britain and Ireland to northern Africa, across Europe, Arabia, Central Asia, India, the Himalayas and up into China and Mongolia. The range of the species increased dramatically upon domestication as the species went feral in cities around the world. The species is currently resident across most of North America, and has established itself in cities and urban areas in South America, sub-Saharan Africa, South East Asia, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. The species is not the only pigeon to have increased its range due to actions of man; several other species have become established outside of their natural range after escaping captivity, and other species have increased their natural ranges due to habitat changes caused by human activities.

Snails, moths and other insects are taken by White-crowned Pigeons, Orange Doves and Ruddy Ground Doves.

The dodo and solitaires are clearly related, as discussed below, but equally lacking in obvious links with other bird families. The limited fossil record also consists only of unequivocal Columbidae species. Links to the sandgrouse and parrots have been suggested, but resemblances to the first group are due to convergent evolution and the second depend on the parrot-like features of the Tooth-billed Pigeon. However, the distinctive features of that bird seem to have arisen from its specialized diet rather than a real relationship to the parrots.

For example, the American ground and quail doves which are usually placed in the Columbinae seem to be two distinct subfamilies. Basically, the conventional treatment had 2 large subfamilies, one for the fruit-doves, imperial pigeons and fruit-pigeons, and another for nearly all of the remaining species. Additionally, there were 3 monotypic subfamilies, one each for the genera Goura , Otidiphaps and Didunculus . The old subfamily Columbinae consists of 5 distinct lineages, whereas the other 4 groups are more or less accurate representations of the evolutionary relationships. The order presented here follows Baptista et al.

This ambiguity, probably caused by long branch attraction, seems to confirm that the first pigeons evolved in the Australasian region, and that the "Treronidae" and allied forms (crowned and pheasant pigeons, for example) represent the earliest radiation of the group.

No truly primitive forms have been found to date. The genus Gerandia which most likely belongs to the Columbinae has been described from Early Miocene deposits of France. Fragmentary remains of an indeterminate (probably "treronine") Early/Middle Miocene pigeon were found in New Zealand. Apart from that, all other fossils belong to extant genera. For these, and for the considerable number of more recently extinct prehistoric species, see the respective genus accounts.

Other popular breeds are tumbling pigeons such as the Birmingham Roller and fancy varieties that are bred for certain physical characteristics, such as large feathers on the feet or fan-shaped tails. Domesticated Rock Pigeons are also bred as Carrier pigeons, used for thousands of years to carry brief written messages, and Release Doves used in ceremonies.

In Islam, doves and the pigeon clan in general are respected and favoured because they are believed to have assisted the prophet of Islam, Muhammad in distracting his enemies outside the cave of Thaw'r in the great Hijra.

The Passenger Pigeon was exceptional for a number of reasons, along with being the only pigeon species to have gone extinct in modern times that was not an island species. It was once the most numerous species of bird on Earth. Its former numbers are difficult to estimate but one ornithologist, Alexander Wilson, estimated that one flock he observed contained over two billion birds. The decline of the species was abrupt; in 1871 a breeding colony was estimated to contain over a hundred million birds, yet the last individual in the species was dead by 1914. Although habitat loss was a contributing factor, the species is thought to have been massively overhunted, being used as food for slaves and, later, the poor in the United States throughout the 19th century.

Walker, J. (2007) "Geographical patterns of threat among pigeons and doves (Columbidae)" Oryx 41 (3): 289-299.

Source: Wikipedia > Columbidae