Pigeon
Common name for members of a family of birds; smaller species are commonly known as doves, but sizes of pigeons and doves overlap. The birds, almost worldwide in distribution, are most abundant in warm regions.
Pigeons have small heads, short necks, stout bodies with short legs, and sleek plumage and have a fleshy or waxy protuberance, the cere, at the base of the bill. They dwell in trees or on the ground and feed on seeds, fruit, acorns and other nuts, and insects. Pigeons fly rapidly and are noted for their cooing call. They build loose, almost flat, nests of twigs, bark, straw, and weeds; the female lays one or two tan or white eggs.
The best-known species is the common pigeon, whose wild ancestor, native to Europe and Asia, is called the rock dove. It is about 33 cm (about 13 in) long, bluish gray above, with black markings on the wings and a whitish rump; below, it is purplish on the breast and bluish on the abdomen. The sides of the neck, especially in males, are iridescent. The more than 200 domestic breeds as well as the variably colored street or feral pigeons are derived from this species. Homing pigeons, which also vary in color, are bred for their navigational abilities and not for plumage characters. Among the other domestic breeds are the carrier pigeon, a tall, erect form with large wattles around the eyes and the base of the bill, whose name is commonly misapplied to the homing pigeon; the frills, characterized by forward curvature of the tips of the feathers of the neck and body, giving a ruffled appearance; the pouters, which can dilate the crop region into a swollen globe; and the jacobin (a favorite pet of Queen Victoria), whose elongated neck feathers form a hood over the head.
The appropriately named white-crowned pigeon, a Caribbean species that extends north to southern Florida, is the only wild member of its genus found in the eastern United States. The larger band-tailed pigeon, about 39 cm (about 15 in) long, has a range extending from coastal British Columbia and the Rocky Mountains south to Argentina. The passenger pigeon, once common throughout the United States, has been extinct since 1914.
Well-known pigeons outside the Americas include the crowned pigeons, which inhabit New Guinea and adjacent islands and are characterised by an erect crest of modified feathers; the Australian bronze-wings, which are characterised by bronze spots on the wings; the Nicobar pigeon, of islands in the East Indies, characterised by long, iridescent, dark-green hackle feathers of the neck that hang down over the back and shoulders; and the large (up to 50 cm/20 in long), fruit-eating imperial pigeons, with about 37 species in Asia and the Pacific islands, varying from multicoloured to pure white.
Among the pigeons called doves, many are widely distributed in Eurasia and Africa. An Asian species, the spotted dove, has been successfully introduced in many parts of the world, including southern California and Hawaii. A domestic form of uncertain wild origin, the ringed turtledove, has feral populations in California and Florida; usually buffy with a black ring on the hind neck, a pure white variety is a popular addition to movie scenes of large weddings. The most common North American dove is the mourning dove, named for its plaintive call. It is about 30 cm (about 12 in) long, with a brown body, bluish-gray wings, and a long, white-tipped tail. Once found chiefly in open countryside, this species has become a familiar sight in urban residential areas. Smallest of the doves are the sparrow-sized ground doves of the southern United States and the New World tropics.
Scientific classification: Pigeons make up the family Columbidae of the order Columbiformes. The common pigeon is classified as Columba livia, the white-crowned pigeon as Columba leucocephala, and the band-tailed pigeon as Columba fasciata. The passenger pigeon is classified as Ectopistes migratorius. Crowned pigeons make up the genus Goura; Australian bronze-wings, the genus Phaps; and imperial pigeons, the genus Ducula. The Nicobar pigeon is classified as Caloenas nicobarica, the spotted dove as Streptopelia chinensis, the ringed turtledove as Streptopelia risoria, and the mourning dove as Zenaida macroura. Ground doves make up the genus Columbina.