All subspecies: European rock dove, Indian rock dove, Egyptian rock dove, Senegal rock dove, Hume’s rock dove, Iranian rock dove, Mongolian rock dove, Arabian rock dove, Canary Islands rock dove, Saharan rock dove, Oasis rock dove, Cape Verde rock dove (12 total).

Length of existence: 10,000 years 

Closest living relative: The Hill Pigeon, Columba rupestris (top image).

3 ancestors:  Dodo Bird (Raphus cucullatus, middle image) Solitaire (Raphus solitarius and Pezophaps solitaria, bottom image) .

Physical description: plump grey bird with iridescent purple and green feathers around a tall neck and broad pointed wings with black or grey stripes on them. Short legs and a small beak on a small head.

Key characteristics: iridescent throat feathers, wings, orange white or dark brown eyes, tubby

Size: 11-15 inches in length, 24-28 inches in wingspan, 9-11 inches tall

Weight: wide range depending on feeding but typically between 8.4-13.4 oz

Life Span: 3-5 years

Difference between male and female: female’s throat feathers have less iridescence and it is located more on the breast instead of just the neck and the sides.

Rainfall: depends on the area in which they are nesting but they typically live in an area where it rains.

Plants: shrubs, twigs, grass, trees, agriculture inside parks or gardens.

Animals: humans, dogs, cats, other birds (mostly songbirds) squirrels, rats, mice.

Temperature: depends on the location but temperatures of their habitat can range from cold winters of 30º F to warm summers of 90º F.

Terrain: cities, rocky cliffs (seaside), farm land, parks, gardens, suburbs.

Continents found: Europe, Western Asia, North Africa, North America, Australia, South America.

Invasive: this species is considered invasive.

What does it eat: seeds, grasses and shrubs, berries, acorns, earthworms and insects, leftovers from humans/food provided by humans. Many pigeons survive by eating human food found on the ground or in garbages.

How often: pigeons will eat any chance they get but typically search for food in the early morning or mid afternoon.

How does it get food: finding it in parks, gardens, or cliffs where there is vegetation. They get much of their food from humans either feeding them or throwing food away and the pigeons find it later.

Any special food: they don’t have anything special in their diet except for whatever interesting meal a human may provide.

Live in packs or solo: they form large groups called flocks.

Roles within community: an average flock is made of producers and scroungers. producers locate and obtain food and scroungers eat the food obtained.

Male or Female led groups: both male and female rock pigeons make up a flock. There isn’t one bird in charge and both genders have an equal role.

Individuals that make up the group: there can be different species within a flock and there is a hierarchy system that cycles between different members for leadership roles. There are the scroungers and the producers as well.

How do they interact with each other: they often fly together to avoid predators and alert each other of danger. They reproduce together within flocks and communicate with their coos, stop using, hissing, and beak snapping.

How often do they mate: every few months.

How many mates do they have: rock pigeons have one mate and they mate for life.

Time of year for mating: they mate every few months throughout warm seasons.

Mating rituals: the male pigeon will bow for his mate, coo and inflate his iridescent throat feathers (bottom image), and strut around the female in a circle to show himself off. Often the male will regurgitate food for the female as a courtship gesture or they may preen each other.

Number of offspring produces at a time: typically 2 eggs are laid each cycle.

Stages of development: it starts with the female laying 2 eggs (top image) that incubate for 18 days. The newborn pigeons (middle image) leave the nest about 2 weeks later and take 7 months to be full grown. They live around 3-5 years.

How old before sexual maturity: typically 7 months, this is when they are considered full grown and sexually mature.

Activities and environment of stages: their feathers will develop between birth and when they leave the nest. They can fly at about 30 days old and they will leave the nest to build one of their own until they reach maturity. Within those 7 months they may change locations but they do not migrate.

Difference between development of males and females: there are very few differences in development between the genders however the females do have less iridescent feathers and they will sit on the nest more often. The female builds the nest while the male collects the materials for her (bottom image).

Predation: many predators that live in the same areas as pigeons tend to feed on the pigeons. Common predators of rock pigeons are opossums (top image), raccoons (middle image) , red-tailed hawks (bottom image), great horned owls, eastern screech owls, kestrels, eagles, and peregrine falcons.

Sexual Competition: rock pigeons occasionally will fight over territory or mates but this rarely results in the death of the other pigeon.

Disease: rock pigeons have been known to carry many diseases without it damaging the bird itself however, one disease that does effect the rock pigeon is Trichomonosis. This is an avian (only found in birds) disease that attacks the body, leaving lesions and masses that obstruct the digestive or respiratory tracts.

Other causes: humans

Inter-species – within the species: there is some competition for mates, but pigeons mate for life so those issues are resolved relatively fast. They are slightly territorial and will compete for food when necessary; this is more common when there is a difference in age (adults fighting adolescents for their food)

Intra-species – with other species: there are many predators that kill pigeons but many of the omnivores in the environment can also fight with pigeons over plants and grain. There is competition between other species of doves and pigeons as well.

What do they compete over: food, territory, mates.

What is the rating: least concerned

Population: 260 million

Population Trend: decreasing 

Impact of Humans: pest control, pet trade, man made structures providing home, humans provide the majority of a pigeons diet, domestication, trapping and killing as a form of “pest control”, killed for food (game birds).

What impacts have occurred: rock pigeons were used in wars to send messages, many were killed in these wars.

Potential Future impacts: pigeons have recently proven to be able to detect certain types of cancer in humans, this will likely be used in some forms for medical practices. There is also a possibility of bringing back the idea of carrying letters in wars or simply in general. It is also likely that pigeons will be killed more often due to the diseases they carry in their feces.

How long have humans been interacting with species: 5,000-10,000 years ago (used in war).

Efforts being made to minimize impacts: very few is being done to change the impacts of humans on these birds because of the high populations and the fact that they are an invasive species. Rock pigeons are not protected under the U.S. Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 because they are not native to the U.S.. The RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) is a UK based conservatory for nearly all bird species that takes donations to preserve or help any bird they can, the rock pigeon being one of them.