A familiar sight on city streets, pigeons have been tamed since at least 3000 BC. The common pigeon is only one of more than 250 species, or kinds, of birds in the scientific family Columbidae. The smaller, long-tailed members of the family are often called doves. However, no sharp line can be drawn between pigeons and doves. The domestic pigeon was bred from the rock dove, and the traditional “dove of peace” is in fact a white domestic pigeon. The pigeons and doves are closely related to the extinct bird called the dodo.

Where pigeons and doves live

Pigeons and doves are found in all parts of the world except the most remote islands and the coldest regions of the north and south. Different species have adapted to life in farmlands, woodlands, deserts, and cities. Australia, New Guinea, and nearby islands have a particularly rich variety of pigeon species.

Physical features

Pigeons and doves have plump bodies with short necks and small heads. They range in length from about 6 to 33 inches (15 to 84 centimeters). The largest of all are the crowned pigeons of New Guinea. They are at least the size of chickens.

Many pigeons and doves are gray, brown, black, or white. The mourning dove, a gray-brown bird, is the most common wild dove of North America. Some of the tropical species are more colorful. The bleeding-heart dove of the Philippine Islands is named for its patch of bright red breast feathers. The fruit pigeons of Africa, southern Asia, Australia, and the Pacific islands have green feathers that help them blend in with their surroundings as they feed in the trees.

Behavior

Most species of pigeons eat mostly seeds, which they pick up from the ground. Some also eat leaves from trees. True to their name, fruit pigeons eat fruit. Unlike other birds, pigeons and doves are able to sip water continuously, without having to tip back the head to swallow each mouthful.

Even though they spend much of their time on the ground, pigeons and doves are strong fliers. Northern species like the mourning dove and the turtledove fly south in autumn. Pigeons and doves have a fine sense of direction. Homing pigeons use this sense to fly home even after being carried hundreds of miles away by their handlers.

Life cycle

A typical male pigeon courts a female by cooing and strutting with tail feathers upraised. Pairs of pigeons typically stay together for as long as they live. The male may make a nest in advance of mating, or the pair may search for a site together. Many kinds of pigeons nest in trees or bushes. However, the rock dove uses rock ledges or city buildings. The nests are usually flimsy structures made of twigs.

A female pigeon almost never lays more than two eggs. The female usually sits on the eggs during the night, and the male sits on them during the day. In about two or three weeks, the eggs hatch into baby pigeons, called squabs. The squabs stay in the nest for 12 to 18 days.

Pigeons are the only birds that feed their young with milk. Both parents produce the milk from a gland in the throat. The squab gets a drink by poking its bill into a parent's mouth. Pigeon's milk has most of the same ingredients as the milk of mammals.

Environmental issues

In the past, people used homing pigeons to carry important messages from place to place. Today people raise pigeons for their fine feathers and for their meat. Some pigeons are used for competitive racing as well.

Street pigeons stay in cities all year. Many people consider them to be a nuisance. Outside of cities, pigeons and doves have been labeled as pests because they eat the seeds that farmers take such trouble to plant.

Some species of pigeons and doves, including the mourning dove, are hunted as game birds. Many years ago, hunting was partly responsible for wiping out one species, the passenger pigeon. Early in the 19th century there were so many passenger pigeons in eastern North America that a flock could take hours to pass overhead. Because they traveled in such huge groups, they were easy to kill in large numbers. The passenger pigeon became extinct in 1914.