Rock Pigeon

Species notes

The rock dove (Columba livia), also known as the common pigeon or "rock pigeon", is a member of the bird family Columbidae (doves and pigeons).: 624 In common usage, it is often simply referred to as the "pigeon", although the rock dove is the wild form of the bird; the pigeons familiar to most people are the domesticated forms of the wild rock dove. Wild rock doves are uniformly pale grey with two black bars on each wing, with few differences being seen between males and females; i.e. they are not strongly sexually dimorphic. The domestic pigeon, often, but invalidly, called "Columba livia domestica", which includes about 1,000 different breeds, is descended from this species. Escaped domestic pigeons are the origin of feral pigeons around the world. Both forms can vary widely in the colour and pattern of their plumage unlike their wild ancestor, being red, brown, checkered, uniformly coloured, or pied.