Rock Dove
Rock Pigeon
Columba livia
(Columbidae)
Global Rank:
G5
State Rank:
SNA
Agency Status
USFWS:
USFS:
none
BLM:
none
General Description
Medium-sized pigeon. Length of males 30 - 36 cm, females 29 - 35 cm. Mass of males 369 g; females 340 g. Bill dark gray; under wing coverts white; tail with blue-black subterminal band; outer rectrix white on proximal 2/3 of outer vane; rump gray or white. Wings usually with two dark bars on greater coverts and inner secondaries. Basic color bluish gray in most, bluish black in some, rusty red in a few and a fraction mostly white or grizzled. (Johnston, Richard F. The Birds of North America, No. 13, 1992).
Economic Value
Has been used to monitor air pollution (Tansey and Roth 1970).
Habitat
Found chiefly in cities and towns or at farms with livestock; not found far from humans or agriculture. (Johnston 1992).
Food Habits
Seeds, fruits, rarely invertebrates. (Johnston 1992).
Ecology
Many birds reported in county and watershed occurrences may not be records of feral birds.
Reproductive Characteristics
Roost and nest in crevices. Monogamous for life. Pair formation Feb through Sep. with no peaks. Clutch size is 2 eggs. Overlap of clutches and broods common in summer. Interval between first eggs of first and second clutches averages 46 days. (Johnston 1992).
Citations & Sources
- Lenard, S., J. Carlson, J. Ellis, C. Jones, and C. Tilly. 2003. P. D. Skaar's Montana Bird Distribution, 6th Edition. Montana Audubon, Helena, Montana. vi + 144 pp.
- NatureServe Explorer: An online encyclopedia of life [web application]. 2002. Version 1.6 . Arlington, Virginia, USA: NatureServe. Available: http://www.natureserve.org/explorer. (Accessed: March 20, 2003 ).
